


Crashing

by CrashDevil (cjdevlin19)



Series: Red Queen Chronicles [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-09-28 10:02:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10090331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjdevlin19/pseuds/CrashDevil
Summary: Loki breaks into T'Challa's lab in Wakanda after finding HYDRA's red book and brings Cassie's true self out. Who is she now and how will everyone else take to the new Red Queen?***************Loki watched as Cassie blinked her eyelids slowly, as if everything was suddenly clear. "Undo her restraints." Cassie stepped down from the tank and looked around. "How do you feel, Joanna? What's different?""Shut up, Loki." She whispered, before turning to the scientist. "Run. Now. Go."Loki watched in amusement as the man ran from the darkened lab. "How are you, my queen?""Not as different as you would want." She leaned against the desk and looked up at Loki, disdainfully. "You really thought I'd come out on the other side of this ready to be your bride?""I wasn't sure how you'd come out of it, Joanna. I was actually hoping you'd go all stiff and ready to take direction like that other one."Cassie smiled, slightly. "Someone's feeling a little flaccid without his scepter."





	1. Drowned

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" The terrified Wakandan man in the white outfit nodded, nervously. Loki smiled, running his hand down the glass of the cryonics tank. "Gives off an air of regality, even asleep. Especially asleep. There's no fear on her here. No contempt. No attempt to run from her King." Loki turned to the scientist. "You _can_ speak German, yes?"

"Y-yes." Loki produced a red notebook from his breast pocket and handed it backward to the man, without looking away from the frozen woman.

"Halfway through. Labeled 'KIND'. Now, open this."

The man hit several buttons on the tank, which filled with a chemical. Cassie blinked her eyes open, confusion filling her face before the blur cleared out of her eyes and it was replaced with fear. "Loki?" She struggled against her binds as the tank opened.

"Junior. Vierhundert." 

"No. Don't read that! Please." Cassie struggled more vigorously.

"Keep going." Loki ordered. 

"I'm sorry. Rot. Tochter. Vermächtnis. Fünfzig. Messer. Schädel."

"No. God, please, no! Please. Please, stop!" She cried over the trigger words.

"Johann. Zwei."

Loki watched as Cassie blinked her eyelids slowly, as if everything was suddenly clear. "Undo her restraints." Cassie stepped down from the tank and looked around. "How do you feel, Joanna? What's different?"

"Shut up, Loki." She whispered, before turning to the scientist. "Run. Now. Go." 

Loki watched in amusement as the man ran from the darkened lab. "How are you, my queen?"

"Not as different as you would want." She leaned against the desk and looked up at Loki, disdainfully. "You really thought I'd come out on the other side of this ready to be your bride?"

"I wasn't sure how you'd come out of it, Joanna. I was actually hoping you'd go all stiff and ready to take direction like that other one."

Cassie smiled, slightly. "Someone's feeling a little flaccid without his scepter." 

"How dare you talk to-"

"Come on, Loki. We don't wanna be here when the King and his guards get here." Cassie grabbed his overcoat and pulled him out the door. 

*************************

T'Challa sent word to Steve as he was mounting his offensive on the Raft that Cassie had been kidnapped out of the cryo bay by Loki. So, when they were safely away from the prison, sitting in the cargo hold of a ship on it's way to America, Steve sat next to Clint. "You know, Cassie gave me the information I needed to get you out."

"Yeah? When did she-"

"She didn't go home. She found me and Bucky, helped us get to Wakanda. She was instrumental."

"Wait. What about the..." Steve looked down as Clint looked crestfallen. "No. What happened?"

"She said she lost it, but... she said she had some interaction with Loki after she got out of the Raft, so... he may have..." 

"She must be devastated." Clint whispered.

"Um... there's more. She gave me a letter for you to read." Steve pulled the letter from his inside pocket, but didn't hand it to the archer.

"Wh-"

"And before you read this... you need to know that Loki found her in Wakanda."

"What?! What do you mean? She stayed in Wakanda?""

"She had them cryonically freeze her. She said that the letter would explain." Steve slipped the envelope into Clint's lap and stood.

Clint slid his finger across the envelope and pulled the letter out before shaking out a white gold ring; one he recognized. He cleared his throat as he unfolded the letter.

_My dearest Clint,_

_I'm so sorry that I cannot do this in person, but you're in prison and I'll be frozen by the time Steve gets you out. Loki is looking for that red book, the one Helmut Zemo used to activate Bucky as the Winter Soldier. I'm 90% certain my words are on those pages, too. I am not sure who I will become when those words are said, but I'm 100% certain that no one would like to find out. That's why I'm going into cryo, because I can't hurt anyone if I'm frozen. We decided it was the best course of action. I know you're thinking that I would never hurt anyone, but you have never been more wrong. I've been remembering and I know that I have killed. I killed two SHIELD agents when I was a child and I killed a man in Ethiopia last week. Who knows what else is hiding in my head?_

_I'm sending the ring back because that's what you deserve. I messed up. I shouldn't have said 'yes'. It was selfish. I wanted my happy ending so much that I lied, to me and to you. I've been pretending for too long and I can't anymore. I kissed Sergeant Barnes. He saw the real me, the parts of me that I've been hiding from you and something about that honesty drove me to break your trust. You deserve better. You deserve the woman you thought I was._

_Despite it all, I love you. Be well._

_Cassandra Campbell (R.Q.)_

Clint crushed the letter in his hand, anger almost palpable in the small space. "Let me get this straight." He stood, stomping up to Steve as Wanda, Scott and Sam stared on in confusion. "While I was in prison for helping you, your buddy made out with my fiancée and then one of you convinced her to _freeze herself,_ leaving her completely defenseless when Loki came to get her in the supposedly impenetrable fortress of Wakanda? Just making sure I have my facts straight." 

Steve looked down. "It was Bucky's idea to go into cryo. And he's not the only one she kissed." Steve responded, quietly. 

Clint's fist smashed into Steve's left cheekbone. He pulled away, cradling his hand. "Worth it!"

"You kissed her back?" Sam asked, as Scott tried not to look impressed and Wanda made no effort to hide her judgement.

"I..." Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "She... I didn't know she kissed Bucky and she said she was breaking up with you, Clint, and... I didn't know if I was going to see her again. I'm sorry."

"She is _not_." Wanda growled at Scott, who looked powerless to explain what she was mad about. "I could hear your judgement. You don't know her like I do; like _we_ do. She isn't promiscuous."

"Oh, really? 'Cause, I mean, evidence to the contrary. How many dudes other than your fiancé do you have to kiss before you get labeled?"

"Shut the fuck up, Lang." Clint growled. 

"Yeah, okay. Get angry at me." Scott rolled his eyes. 

"So, what do we do about Loki taking her?" Sam asked.

"We're going to get to the U.S. and we'll go from there. Coulson gave me the location of an old SHIELD black site where we can hang our hats. We'll find them from there." Steve answered.

"Screw that. I'm going home. You can find me on the farm." 

*********************

Clint stood in the barn, shooting arrows into a target made of hay. He was angry. He was sad. He was taking it out on the hay and the wall behind the target. "What'd that wall do to you?" 

Clint turned to the voice, tossing his bow to the side as he bounded for the small blond woman. "How did you get away from Loki?" Clint asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"I fought back. Did you expect anything less of me?"

Clint pulled back, eyeing her warily. "You wrote me a letter. Said Loki was looking for your trigger words. It's the whole reason you let yourself be frozen. You didn't want him to let out the sleeper..."

"You think Loki's controlling me?" She scoffed. "He's just an alien without his fancy scepter. _I'm_ a super soldier."

Clint drove his fist into her jaw and stepped back. " _You_ might be, but Cassie hates being called that. You're Joanna, again." 

She smiled as she straightened, her tongue darting out to lick at her busted lip. "Actually, Clint, I _prefer_ 'Cassie'. 'Joanna Schmidt' is an obvious Nick Fury construct. It evokes uncomfortable feelings and images of the noseless abomination my father became. 'Cassie', though, that gives off a feeling of hope and love, evokes images of a young woman crying because she finally has family to share Christmas dinner with." Cassie sighed. "I was afraid you were going to be a problem. That you were going to realize, recognize. Sad. I was praying to fool you."

"You _never_ could." 

"Because you love me. You, the man who watched through a scope as I tried to piece together some semblance of a normal life. But, I couldn't, could I? Not with Phil's help. Even with _your_ help. It's like trying to put together a puzzle with half the pieces gone. Joanna, she was a completely different puzzle, but she was missing the same number of pieces."

"And you're, what, the missing jigsaw pieces?" Clint asked, hand going to the tactical blade on his hip.

Cassie lurched forward, grabbing the knife from his hand and punching him in the mouth with the handle. "The words are the pieces, you idiot. _I'm_ the big picture, Clint, pay attention. I'm the image we've been trying to get to, but haven't been able to, because we didn't have the words to trigger the memories. The memories that HYDRA and SHIELD decided I'd be better off without." She kicked Clint in the chest, sending him backward into the barn door. She let out a satisfied sigh as the sound of cracked bones hit her. "Because what good could come from me knowing that I killed my first enemy agents at 9 years old? Fury said he was afraid I'd look in the mirror and hate myself but he was terrified that I'd _like_ it. And you know what, Hawk? I don't. I _don't_ like it, but it feels right to be me. The 'me' I was bred to be."

Clint coughed and moved to sit up against the barn door. "This isn't you. This is Loki."

"Loki has nothing to do with this. I sent him packing a week ago. He wanted nothing to do with HYDRA and since I _am_ the future of HYDRA, I sent him back to Asgard." She squatted down in front of him, a sincere sadness gracing her features. "I knew this was going to be difficult for you to understand, Clint. Even before I... became complete, I knew you'd hate this. I've rallied against HYDRA, against me being my father's Legacy, since I knew what HYDRA was. Me becoming head of HYDRA is like finding out Steve is a deep-cover HYDRA agent: it's absurd. But here I am."

"We won't let you-"

"I know." She nodded as she stood. "All of you would fight tooth and nail to get me back to being the person you think I should be. You'd send me off to SHIELD to be erased again. So, I'll have to kill you all."

"Harder villains have tried."

"You're right, but, see, Zemo had the right idea. And he did half of my work for me. The Avengers are strong because we work well to balance each others faults. The powered and the non-powered. Tacticians and geniuses and just plain strong heroes. But right now, we're fractured. Those of us that signed can come and go as we please, but they're hanging out in New York, mostly. The Compound. The rest of you, the fugitives, you're scattered. Not even in constant contact. I'll have marched through the Secret Avengers before you all realize the rest of your team is gone. And then, I'll take the Compound."

"You'll never make it through all of us... even separate."

"See, I've known you all for quite a while now, so... I know your pressure points. I know your buttons, Clint. I know that just _mentioning_ Bucky makes Steve stop in his tracks. I wish I could have seen his face when Winter Soldier showed up at Fury's old black site, but I had to be here." 

"You didn't."

She chuckled. "Of course, I did. Why would I leave such a powerful HYDRA asset on ice? It took a bit of doing to get back into T'Challa's lab, but totally worth it."

"Why would you send him after Steve?"

"Because I know that Bucky is Steve's weak spot. I would be a fool to not use him. Especially since I know Soldat's trigger phrases. It's the only Russian I really know. Strucker taught them to me a long time ago. Did you know that Winter Soldier was supposed to be my right hand when I came of age? When they put me at the head of HYDRA, Bucky was going to be next to me." Cassie examined the knife in her hand. "I remember that, now. I'm, finally, the person I was created to be, Hawk. I know you can't be happy for me, but... if it's any consolation, killing you is really gonna hurt my feelings."

A shock went through her as something hit her back but it didn't put her down. She turned, angrily, to the redheaded intruder, then forced a tight smile. "Natasha! How unexpected. I didn't think you'd be here. Did you know she was coming, babe?" She asked, stomping her booted heel on Clint's hand.

"Steve sent me." Natasha said, hand resting on the electric stun gun on her wrist.

"What?" Cassie growled.

"Bucky showed up at Steve's new base and tried to kill him. Luckily, Sam was there, they were able to subdue him. When he came back, he told them your plan. He was adamant that it wasn't your fault. Steve called in to get you some help. I'm just here to stall you 'til it gets here." 

"Let me guess. My help comes in the form of Phil's Zephyr 1, which will take me to Fury to be erased again." Cassie shook her head, twisting her heel to hear the crunch of Clint's bones. Her lips twitched as they attempted a smile. "Someone's not drawing a bowstring anytime soon. Something to remember the real me by, since I won't be able to."

"It's better this way." Natasha said.

Cassie took her foot off of the archer's hand and squared herself with the Russian. "Says you. You're not the one who has to walk around with a giant hole in your personality. You aren't the one who gets to feel wrong, _every_ day, and not know why."

Clint cradled his broken left hand in his right and stood with a wince. "You don't even like yourself like this!"

"I hit a wall, Clint. I couldn't deal with fighting myself anymore. Since Sokovia, I've been trying to convince myself that this isn't who I am. That remembering this all wouldn't change me, but it did. I changed. And when I woke up... when Loki said those words, everything clicked. Who I really am flooded into me. So, I let myself finally drown."

"You're tired, so you just stop fighting? What happened to the strong woman I wanted to marry?"

"She died in Africa." Cassie looked from Natasha to Clint, to the barn door to the hayloft. "About the time she killed a warlord and threatened to drown a little boy in the blood of his friends."

She bent her knees and vaulted herself over Natasha, landing on the ladder to the loft, before jumping to the loft. "I can't let you take me back there." Cassie started toward the hayloft door but stopped when an arrow hit her thigh.

"Barney! What? You shot my-" Clint yelled as Cassie pulled the arrow out of the soft flesh of her left leg.

She turned and tossed it at the tall ginger man. "What? _You_ can't shoot her, so I did." He responded, pulling the arrow out of the air, deftly.

"Barney Barton. Nice to finally meet you. Unfortunately, I can't stick around. You understand, I'm sure." She said, before jumping out the loft door.

Barney handed the arrow shaft to Clint's good hand, who could tell it was a tracer arrow. "Great taste in women, Bro."

"That wasn't Cassie." Clint defended, as Barney opened the barn door.

"Yes, it was." Nat said, pulling out a tablet and tracking Cassie's retreating dot on her map.

"How can you say that, Nat? You know Cass. You know she's not-"

"Clint, I know what you wanna hear, but I can't say it. She was someone else with those memories gone, but this is who she is _with_ them."

"But you... you remember your-"

"And I fought to become someone better. Cassie doesn't _want_ to fight, so unless we can get her to Coulson to get those memories erased, your fiancee is gone."

"Do you really want her back, Clint? Bitch just broke your hand." Barney threw the bow on the porch swing as he walked through the door. "I mean, even if you get her back to being... what's she called? 'Red Queen'... even if you get rid of the homicidal tendencies HYDRA gave her, she tried to kill all of you. It's gonna change how you see her, how you all treat her." 

"And we won't be able to tell her why."

"What does that matter? How many times have you tried to kill me, Barn? Nat was trying to kill me when we met."

"Different." Barney said, pulling a beer out of the fridge with one hand and grabbing an ice pack from the freezer with the other. "This is the chick you said had never killed anyone, right? That actively avoided doing more than incapacitating the bad guys, 'cause her dad was a huge dick?"

"Now, we  _all_ know that's not true, don't we?"

"You don't seem too surprised by that, Natasha." Clint said, placing the ice pack over the back of his hand.

"I read the file. Projekt Kind. I knew she killed those agents in '99 before she did." Natasha sighed as the signal on the tracer dulled. "She's trying to block the transmitter." 

"She's a scientist. I could've told you a tracking chip wasn't going to work." Clint growled.

"Shut up. I had to try something." Barney popped open his beer and took a drink. "At least you know where she was heading and she'll have to pull the metal dampening it, eventually, to cut out the chip."

"If we even _want_ to find her." Natasha reiterated.

"Of course, we do. What kind of-"

"Exactly what memories do we take, Clint? Just her childhood, or do we take her memories of the things that made her start remembering? Do we take away Loki's second attack? Do we take Austria? What about Wanda? Where do we stop?"

"Where ever we need to to get her back!" Clint's hand reflexively started to clench, causing him to hiss.

"But if we take everything, she will barely know you. She'll still be terrified of Steve. She will be drowning in a bottle of whiskey and pining for Coulson, who kinda still loves her and is currently very unattached."

"Phil wouldn't."

"Man's lonely. His last girlfriend was shot and bled out in his arms. He might." Natasha started.

"And she'd have no memory of playing Avenger with you." Barney said, around his beer can.

"Why don't you just turn the new 'Cassie'?" Laura's voice was a whisper as she entered the kitchen and all eyes fell on her. "I know I'm not supposed to listen in, but Cassie's a friend."

"It's not that simple, Lore. She's gone over to HYDRA. It's not like we can just convince her to come be an Avenger again."

"Also, Avengers are less a thing now." Natasha finished.

"She loves you, Clint. You know she does." 

"She woulda been really sad about killing you, right?" Barney set the can on the counter and turned to his wife. "She may not be fixable."

"But... you just bring her in, help her. She doesn't have to be bad, just because she was made to do some things when she was with HYDRA. Right?"

Clint looked between Barney and Natasha. He sighed loudly as the sound of a Quinjet landing in the yard came across the room.


	2. Sensitive Compartmentalized

Cassie kicked in the door to the bar and glared around the dusty room. "Tell me you have a SCIF in this dump." 

A short man with salt and pepper hair walked up. "What?"

"A SCIF? Sensitive Compartmentalized Information Facility? A room with radiant foil in the walls that shuts out transmissions and WiFi and hackables when activated."

"Who the Hell-" The man started to grab her, but she grabbed his head and bounced it against the bar.

"Heil HYDRA." She said, turning to the others. "You. You dress like SHIELD. Were you?"

"Yes, uh, ma'am?"

"John Garrett, Grant Ward; these names ringing your bells?" She asked her hand over her thigh.

"Yes, ma'am. Garrett recruited me to HYDRA."

"So, you were with them when they took the Fridge, right? They spent an hour, probably closer to 40 minutes looking for someone. You ever get a description of who?"

"Short, blond, green eyes... oh my God, you're her."

"Awesome, no introduction necessary. SCIF?" She asked. The young man nodded and rushed for a door labeled 'Storage'. Cassie followed and leaned against the table in the SCIF. "Okay, what's your name?"

"Derek Shipton."

"I'm Cassie, Derek. I need you to get me some needle-nosed pliers and some liquor. I have to cut a tracker out of my thigh, so I, also, need a foil-lined metal box to put it in."

"Yes, ma'am." Derek rushed out and came back almost immediately with her supplies.

"Oh, and Derek? I need you to look up my file and give it to the guy who used to be in charge. He needs to know why he's not in charge anymore. Projekt Kind. Look it up. Once I deactivate the SCIF, bring in the guy I just demoted, okay? Thanks, Derek." Cassie smiled as the man rushed out and she locked the SCIF down. 

Cassie stripped her jeans off of her legs and grabbed the knife she stole from Clint. The wound had already begun to heal itself, the flesh making its efforts to grow closed over the foreign object. She dug the knife deep into each side of the wound to open it, then grabbed the pliers. The tracker had a little blue light that blinked a slow consistent blink. She dropped it into the box Derek had retrieved and slammed the lid. As she pulled up her jeans over the already clotting wound, she unlocked the SCIF, prompting Derek to run in, a tall blond man with a beard following him. 

"Who the Hell do you think you are?"

"Derek didn't show you my file?" She asked, boredly.

"He wouldn't even open it, ma'am."

"Oh, shame." Cassie said, standing on a chair to wrap her hand around the bearded man's throat and lift him up off the ground. "I was hoping to do this without much blood. I mean, I know death and destruction, that's the HYDRA way, but I wanted to keep as much of our ranks intact as possible. We've been dwindling a bit. SHIELD, Captain America, the Avengers, even Ultron took out some of our high-level heads and there just aren't two for every one anymore. I want you to stick around. I want everyone to stick around. But that doesn't mean I'm against killing you for defying me."

She dropped the man to his feet, but kept her hand firmly around his throat. "If you'd bothered to open that file, you'd know why Herr Whitehall wanted me. You'd see that I am the second daughter of Johann Schmidt, made in a lab in the Alps by a group of HYDRA scientists. You'd see that I was bred to lead and taught to kill at an early, early age. You'd see my proficiency with all manner of weapons and my specifically engineered IQ. What you wouldn't have seen in that file was the genetic fiddling that happened a few years ago that made me just like Daddy. Minus that complexion issues, of course. You will follow me, or you will die. I will tear you to pieces, just as an example and don't, for one second, think you can get the better of me. Do you understand?" The man was silent, looking at her in fear. "Verstehst du?"

"Yes. Yes, I understand." He whispered. 

She smiled and jumped down off of the chair, letting go of his neck. "Great. I'm Cassie Campbell. You are?"

"Karl Kraus." He whispered, hand going to his throat.

"Awesome. Now, full disclosure, Karl, just in case it comes up, I _was_ hanging with the Avengers for a while. I was confused, some identity issues, trying to be a good guy but I got over it. I'm ready to do what needs to be done now, to usher in the next great age and I hope you're with me on that."

Karl looked to Derek, who just stared at his feet. "You... you're the Red Queen. From the battle of Sokovia."

"Yeah. And a couple other battles. It's not important. I'm done with them. They are the past. _You_ are the future. What do you say, Karl Kraus? You wanna help me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Sure, you do." She pulled the door to the SCIF open and walked out. "You _could_ choose death. I don't recommend it."

Derek followed her, close behind and Kraus sighed loudly. "Not much of a choice." 

Cassie walked to the bar and grabbed a bottle of something dark, twisting the cap and gulping down what turned out to be a dark rum. "My name is Cassie Campbell and I will be your new... leader. Your new queen." She said, with a smile. "I doubt any of you have met my sister Sinthea. I haven't, either, but you've heard the stories about her and about my father, Johann Schmidt, founder of HYDRA. You don't have to worry, I'm not like her. But I have no time for questions or bitching, you'll follow orders or you'll get cut loose. You do what you're told, I don't kill you. It's that simple. I will, of course, need files on everyone. Names, numbers, ranks, blah blah blah. Shipton and Kraus will get those for me. I will return to the bar when I've found a place to bunk. If you don't support me in this, leave quietly while I'm gone. There will be no retaliation for the lack of faith." She walked out, bottle in hand as the HYDRA soldiers in the bar started to whisper amongst themselves. 

*************************************

"What do you mean, you were too late? Romanoff couldn't stall her?" Fury's voice could be heard throughout the farmhouse's dining room, even though Coulson's phone wasn't on speaker. The room was full of sad, silent, seething people who couldn't decide who they were angry at.

"An arrow in her leg couldn't stall her, Nick. She was determined not to have her memories wiped, again." Steve responded.

"Put me on goddamn speaker." Phil fiddled with the buttons on his phone. "She what?"

"She knew you were going to wipe her. She ran to avoid going through that again. HYDRA wiped her several times and then SHIELD did, too." Bucky spoke up. He pushed his hair out of his face, with the new metal prosthetic Cassie had given him when she woke him up, and looked around the room. "Knowing that there are pieces of your memories, pieces of _you_ missing that you can't identify... that's so much worse than knowing what HYDRA made us into."

Clint growled, deep in his chest, finally deciding who he was angry with. "This is your fault!" He glared at Bucky. 

"Excuse me?"

"Barton, calm down." Steve stood, stepping in front of Bucky protectively as Clint stood.

"No! We were fine!" He fought the urge to clench his left fist as his right hand went to the empty holster for his knife. "We were happy and we were gonna be married until _you_ came in with your 'kindred spirits' hunky emo guyliner bullshit! She wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't convinced her to freeze herself so that Loki could grab her. She hadn't had any issues with him, he was leaving her alone but you serve her up in a silver fuckin' platter and how could he resist?!"

"He'd been watching her for months, trying to endear himself to her by helping her out, but you wouldn't know that, would you?" Bucky stood, pushing Steve a little as he leaned closer to the archer. "You're just her **_ex_** -fiance who was such a self-absorbed crumb you couldn't even tell when her insomnia got so bad that she just gave up trying to sleep. Couldn't tell that she was having nightmares, memories of killing SHIELD agents when she was just a girl."

"I knew she was remembering. You think I'm an idiot?"

"I think you're a sub-zero jerk who obviously didn't know how to treat a rare dish like her. And the whole reason she went into cryo is because she thought you'd look at her different if you knew she was a killer. Something about you looking at _me_ like I'm a rabid dog and her not being able to handle you looking at her that way. She said you wouldn't love her if you knew she was a monster and what do you do when she comes to you a changed woman? You snap your cap and chase her away."

"She'd already sent you to kill Steve! She was beyon-"

"Shut the _Hell_ up!" Fury's voice pulled the men out of their fight. "This is not Sergeant Barnes' fault and this is not Barton's fault. This is _my_ fault. I should have grabbed her when she was in Africa, wiped her before she ever even made it to Wakanda."

"Wiping her is what caused this whole-"

"I appreciate your input, Sergeant, but wiping her would have ended this just as much as it started it."

"She would have _known_ that something was wrong. She's known something was wrong the whole time." Steve spat toward the phone.

"A temporary solution is still a solution, Rogers." 

"Whatever. What are we going to do about her, now?" Natasha asked, moving from standing next to Steve to stand next to Coulson. "She's decided she's HYDRA. We can't wipe her without getting rid of everything that's made her Red Queen."

"We can add new memories... similar but different." Phil responded. 

"So, we just... want to find her and erase her again?!" Steve exclaimed. 

"Is that not better than letting her try to kill everyone she loves?" Wanda finally spoke up.

"Maybe she'll leave us alone if we leave her alone. Let her live her homicidal dreams with the Nazis." The group couldn't tell if Barney was joking.

"Is that your brother, Barton?" Fury asked.

"Yeah, I live here."

"He _kinda_ lives here. He's the one that shot her, since... I am not going to be shooting any time soon."

"Guess you could always pick up a gun again and shoot righty." Natasha suggested.

"I don't want to have to pick up a gun... not when we're going after her." 

"Okay, I'm gonna be the one to say it... she was more than willing to kill all of us. She sent Barnes to off Steve, he'd be dead if I wasn't there to stop it. She was going to do a lot worse than just a broken hand to Barton. She has taken up with her father's Nazi bros and she's probably asserted herself as HYDRA's new snake head. She's gone 180 from the Red Queen we know and love. She's gone so far dark side that even Loki thought it was better to give her some space. The school-approved solution for evil is not wiping memories or trying to turn her back into an Avenger. School-approved solution is exactly what _you_ did with her father. It's exactly what Tony did with Obadiah Stane. What you all did to Loki, what Thor did to Malekith." Sam avoided eye contact with everyone as they turned to look sharply at him.

"So, prison or... death, those are the options?" Steve whispered.

"No. That's not- We are not _killing_ Red." Clint argued.

"Then, capture and incarcerate. Maybe she'll change her tune after some more time at Raft." Natasha suggested. 

"Has anyone called Stark? He's gonna need to know. Rhodes, Vision, Stark, they're all in danger, too." Steve looked across the room at Coulson.

"I've already made that phone call. It wasn't pleasant. Of course, now I need to make it known that she got away. I ain't happy about that call, either." Fury answered.

"Let us know what Stark says." Steve commanded, walking out of the house. Bucky followed close behind. "This is our fault, Buck. We should have just had Fury come get her after she killed that warlord in Africa."

"That's not our fault. She didn't want to go with him. She wanted to be with us."

"Did she? Or did _we_ just want her with us? What if we just wanted her and she remembered, she got taken by Loki and remembered all this horrible stuff, because we wanted her?"

"You can't think like that, Steve. She got out of the Raft and she could've gone home, back to Seattle, but she didn't. She took Loki's help to come find us in Egypt. She wanted to be with us and we did the right thing taking her to Wakanda. She shouldn't have gone on ice. I can see that now, but when we did it, it seemed like the best option. We didn't want to hurt anyone."

"And now, she wants to take over the world. She went in such a good woman."

"She's still a good woman." 

"She sent you to kill me. You can't say she's a good woman." 

"I can. I believe she is, maybe buried deep, underneath all of the HYDRA bullshit. I mean, you believe I'm good, right, even after everything I've done?"

Steve sighed. "It's different. She's not brainwashed. She's the opposite of brainwashed. She's brain... cleared. All of the brainwashing's cleared away and now, she's who she was supposed to be."

"No. Who she's supposed to be is the woman who dropped everything to come help us in Germany and who trekked through Africa with us, okay? That's who she's supposed to be. And she can be again." 

"I hope you're right, Buck."

****************************************

Tony walked into the penthouse of Stark Tower and headed for the bar. "Lights." He looked around as the room stayed dark. "FRIDAY, lights."

"Hope you don't mind, boss. Thought we might be better off just the two of us. Told FRIDAY to take a nap."

Tony turned to Cassie, sitting on his couch, a drink on her hand. "My suit?"

"Fully operational, but... the bracelets look so much better on me, don't you think?" She raised the hand that wasn't holding a glass of his good Scotch to show off the bracelet that called his suit to him. "Come have a seat, Stark."

"You don't need my suit to kill me, Cassie."

"I'm not here to kill you, boss. I came to you because you're the only one I knew would actually talk to me. Without any of the bullshit about trying to send me to Fury. Come have a seat, please." Her tone was desperate, but not angry, so Tony walked down and sat on the couch across from her.

"You look like crap."

She chuckled. "I feel... like I've been put through a blender. I can remember now. Those words they trained into me, they were there just to make me remember. See, Strucker wiped me so that I'd be able to deny everything if SHIELD asked. I'd be able to pretend to be normal. I guess he forgot the part where he comes and gets me back from Fury."

"Remembering your shitty childhood made you evil? I'm fairly certain every Avenger on the roster has that box checked."

"I didn't want this." She whispered. "I didn't tell Bucky to kill Steve. He'll remember that once someone actually _asks_ him what his mission was. I needed Bucky out of stasis because Loki has the red book. I don't remember the wording I used when I sent him after Steve, but it wasn't to kill him. I sent him to the new base because I knew Steve wouldn't let anything happen to Bucky. Bucky would be safe with the one man who would do anything to keep him that way." She took a sip of Scotch and leaned forward. "I was gonna try to ease into telling Clint about what I'd done, about my past, ease into the changes, but... I said one word, one thing that wasn't what Clint thought his woman should say, and he attacked me. I had to make a split-second decision: grovel at his feet, apologize for the woman I am now, beg him to love me and tell him I'd do anything to go back to being the woman he fell for... or be the woman he decided I was in the moment before he hit me. I couldn't bring myself to go the weak route, so I had to commit to the HYDRA angle and to do that, you _all_ have to either leave me the Hell alone, or die."

"You aren't even gonna give the rest of us a chance to get to know the new you?"

"If the man who swears he loves me through thick and thin can't deal with the new me, then why should I expect the rest of you to be okay with me?"

"Cass... people change. We can get to know the person you are now."

"The man supposedly blinded by love couldn't deal, Tony. I'm too different. I'm colder, angrier, more prone to violence. I remember that I like the sound of broken bones, the smell of gunpowder. I love the way dried blood looks on my hands and that's just so _not_ the Cassie you know."

"Okay, so there's a little more Red Skull in your Red Queen." Tony leaned forward and grabbed a tablet off the coffee table. "But you don't want to kill us."

"You're right, I don't. You're the only family I have. But if it comes down to a question of me killing all of you, or me being sent back to Fury to be wiped clean, to become the person  _he_ thinks I should be, I will shed a tear for each of you and move on with my life." 

"I know you, Cassie. You're one of the few people in this world that I've taken the time to actually, you know, _know_. Just because you're a little angrier than you used to be, doesn't mean you need to go Dark Side. You can be Anakin without being Vader."

Cassie smiled. "You think any of them will work with me, now? With who I  _am,_ now? I broke Clint's hand and I _enjoyed it_. I sent Winter Soldier after Steve. I am the embodiment of everything HYDRA wanted of me."

"Not true. You aren't a Nazi. You're just a little different. You could come back, be an Avenger. Vision isn't an issue. He doesn't really care about personality issues. The rest of us can get used to you." 

"I've already taken over HYDRA, Tony. I'm fine to go all the way on this. I can turn HYDRA into a respectable organization, maybe even better than SHIELD. No secrets in my organization."

"No, you can't. Even the Avengers aren't better than SHIELD. We've all got our secrets. We've all got our problems. Don't write us off. Write off Barton, I don't give a fuck, but don't write me off. I don't give a shit if you have a rage issue. I mean, look how close I was with Banner."

Cassie sighed. "You really don't care, Stark? You don't care that Strucker had me brutally murder two SHIELD agents when I was 9, or that I crushed the hyoid bone of a warlord in Africa? You don't care that I broke Barton's hand and relished the sound of his bones crushing under my foot? You don't care that I relish the sound of broken bones?"

"I can get behind all of that. As long as you're crushing the bones of the bad guys. I mean, you signed the Accords. You belong to the UN. As long as you're breaking the bones of the villains they send us after, I don't mind. Look, this might not be you, anymore..." Tony held up the tablet to show a picture of Cassie smiling in the Olympia lab with all of her lab geeks. "... but I think you could still be this." He flipped to the next picture, which was a screen grab from footage of Sokovia which showed her beating an Ultron into the ground next to the core. "Red Queen was always a little more violent than Cassie Campbell, but you've always seemed more free when you were in the field. I liked that. Come on, Red. You don't have to be HYDRA to be yourself."

Cassie stared at the picture for a few long moments before standing. "I'll think about it... _if_ you can guarantee me that I will not be erased again. HYDRA wiped me, SHIELD wiped me. If you want me to trust you, Stark... and I _want_ to be able to trust you... you have to promise that I will not have that done by my _friends_."

Tony stood, putting down the tablet and picking up what was left of the glass of Scotch. "I won't let anyone change you, never again."

She smiled, slightly. "Should've come to you, first. I was really hoping Clint wouldn't be able to tell, though."

"That's what you get get for letting your heart guide you." 

"And what, exactly, is guiding you to be so supportive of me?"

"That's all in my beautiful brain, sweetheart." Tony swallowed the last bit of Scotch and Cassie walked toward the elevator. "You'll let me know what you decide?"

"I've got your number, boss."


	3. War

"We have the list, ma'am." Derek rushed up to her as soon as she walked into the bar. "We had several walkouts, but I wrote down their names, so we could punish-"

"We're not doing that. If they don't want to be a part of my organization, they don't have to be."

"Oh. Okay. Uh, you have a visitor. Far booth. He wouldn't give me his name."

Cassie chuckled when she saw the dark-haired man hiding his face with his hair and his prosthetic with a hoodie and gloves. "So, why'd you let him in?"

"Honestly, ma'am? He scared the hell out of me."

"You weren't a very high-level agent before I made you my second, were you, Derek?"

"N-no, ma'am."

She clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Oh, the things I can teach you. The reason that man scares the pants off you is because _that_ is the Winter Soldier."

"The Winter- I thought he was-"

"A myth? Dead? Arrested? Yeah, we like to keep it that way. Why don't you go ahead and give us the room?"

"You mean... the whole bar?" Cassie's eyes narrowed at him. "Yes, ma'am, the whole bar. Everyone out!"

Bucky didn't move as everyone filed out. "Sergeant Barnes!" She called, counting the seconds before he responded, pointing at the other side of the booth. She sat in front of him with a smile.

"Cassie, we have to get out of here. Trust me, it's bett-"

"Let me see your ears."

It took a second, but he blanched. "What?"

"You want me to trust you, show me your ears. Because there's a delay. A little under 2 seconds between me speaking and you acknowledging." She lifted her hands, signing as she went, her spoken words not matching her repeated signs of (I WILL NOT BE ERASED). "See, I think you have one or several cameras on me and you've got a big fat Hawk in your ear, telling you what I'm saying as he reads my lips. You know, just in case I start speaking Russian. You want my trust? Trust me. Show me your ears."

Bucky sighed, deeply. "I have an earpiece in each ear." Cassie put her hand out. She could hear Clint shouting as Bucky pulled the earpieces out. He placed them in her palm and swallowed as she crushed them.

"The camera?" Bucky pulled a button off of his shirt that was just visible under the hoodie, and handed it over. She blew a kiss at the camera then crushed it. "Now. Speak your piece."

"You _have_ to come with me, Cassie."

Her face dropped into a mask of coldness. "No, I really don't. I can stay right here, where I'm feared and respected for who I am. Where I'm not attacked for being a little different than they think I should be. If I go with you, Sergeant, they will wipe me." It was her turn to swallow her nerves. "They will pull out everything they don't like and pour in what _they_ want of me. You, of all people, should understand me on this."

"I do! And maybe you don't have to be wiped. Maybe you can show them that you can still be a hero with those memories. Show them that you aren't evil, you aren't HYDRA."

"Barnes, you're sweet, but I don't have to prove anything to them. If I want to go be a hero again, I will. But not with them. Not with SHIELD, or with Steve or Clint, or you. I would go be Red Queen with the man who has stood by me through all my decisions, supported me through all my worst choices, even when I chose to give my heart to Barton. The one man who saw my potential even before I knew there _was_ potential in me. The one who saw a hero in me, when all _I_ saw was a victim."

"Stark?"

"The closest thing I've got to a father, and not surprisingly, the only one who actually sat down and talked to me before deciding I'd gone full Vader."

"I'm sitting with you!"

"But you came here under the assumption that you were talking me down. Telling me I need to prove I'm okay. I don't. Now... you should leave."

"Cassie."

"Goodbye, Bucky." She stood, thought for a moment, before grabbing his head and kissing him deeply. "Now, get out of here before one of my people remembers that the Winter Soldier went AWOL after the helicarriers fell."

***************************************

Clint stomped up to Bucky as he entered Clint's Bed-Stuy apartment that they were working out of. "We sent you to get information and/or convince her to come with you. Well, you don't have her, so tell me, what information did you gather from kissing her?!"

"A: She kissed me. And B: I gathered that she always tastes like whiskey and honey, whether she's been drinking or not."

"You jackass!"

"And I really don't think you're grasping the concept of _ex-fiance_."

"You know, I thought we sent you in because you're strong enough to kick her ass and get her back here if she didn't wanna come willingly."

"If that's how you treat your women, then it's no wonder that you're divorced."

"I'm divorced because I fell-"

"Look, I'm telling you. I can do the info gathering. She's never met me. A dye job, a fake accent and I'll be the Hand of the Queen in no time flat." Kate volunteered from the counter where she was perched. The Barton brothers gave her matching looks of confusion.

"Bad things always happen to the Hand. Best keep you around. We might need a Hawkeye on the side." Steve said, walking into the kitchen area and grabbing the coffee pot to refill his mug.

"Captain America watches Game of Thrones?"

"Tony insisted."

"Let me guess; House Stark?" Kate asked, jumping down from the counter.

"Targaryen. Daenerys deserves the Iron Throne." Steve answered, before taking a drink of coffee.

Kate nodded appreciatively, then sighed. "I can still go under. Just gather information, you know. Don't even have to get close."

"Or, you can _not_." Tony's voice came from the other side of the door as the knob twisted and he walked in. "Barton, Barton, She-Barton."

"I'm not a Barton. I'm a Bishop, thank you."

"Yeah, if we're punishing girls for sins of the father, why is she here?" Tony pointed at Kate.

"Nobody's punishing Cassie for sins of her father." Clint said, holding his hand up. "We're punishing her for this and for sending Winter Soldier to kill Steve."

"That reminds me. Anybody bother to ask Sergeant Mommy-killer what his actual orders were?"

Everyone turned to Bucky, who was drinking a glass of water in the living room. "Uh, she... she told me where to find Steve and told me to 'beat some sense into him'."

"'Beat some sense into him'. Considering I was on that same mission a month ago, I don't see how that's worth the Tabula Rasa you've got planned."

"She broke my hand! Told me that she was going to kill all of us."

"Was that before or after _you_ attacked _her_ for coming back a changed woman?" Clint opened his mouth to argue, but Tony continued. "Did _any_ of you bother to try talking to her before you decided she needed some brain bleach?"

"I talked to her. I _fucking_ talked to her." Clint growled, stepping to him. "Right before she kicked me into my barn door and stomped on my hand."

"Yeah. You see, she went to _you_ first, Clint. The man who loved her. The one who wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. I mean, if you can't deal with the woman she is now, then who the hell can? Do you think _maybe_ that has something to do with her sudden career change? Maybe she was looking for some goddamn support in her life."

"So, she took over HYDRA because she wanted support?!" Clint shouted.

"Well, you tell me, jackass. You know her better than anybody, right? Watched her for two years, fell for her before she'd ever even seen your face. Do you think she probably felt pretty unlovable by the time you were done talking? If the man who's supposed to be crazy for you can't see you as anything more than a fucked-up villain then, exactly, who do you go to? Other villains makes sense, right?"

"Other villains. Really? She is... she _was_ my fiance. She just needs to remember who she... we need her to be the person she is supposed to be."

"No, you don't. You don't need her to do anything, Barton. She's fine exactly how she is. What you _need_ is to leave her the hell alone. She's still learning to deal with who she is, she doesn't need to worry about you guys wiping her brain away."

"We can't let her-"

"Okay, here we go... if you won't listen to me, maybe you'll listen to this." Tony pulled out a tablet and presented it to Bucky.

"What's this?" He asked, scrolling through hundreds of paragraphs of legal speak.

"I sat on hold with Thunderbolt Ross... for 4 _hours_ to get this. It's a lot of BS and legalese and brain melting jargon, but maybe FRIDAY can dumb it down for you all. Can you give 'em the layman's?"

"Well, Boss, in the simplest of terms, since she signed the Accords, Cassandra Campbell AKA Joanna Schmidt AKA Red Queen is an agent of the United Nations and any attempt to abduct her, harm her or alter her mind will be seen as an act of war against all 117 nations who signed the Sokovia Accords into law."

"She was kinda right when she said this was a slave contract. The UN owns her, just like the Air Force owns Rhodey and the Army used to own Cap." Tony grabbed the tablet and put it away as he turned to Phil. "'An act of war'. Considering that SHIELD still has yet to convince the world that they are different from the terrorist organization that was hiding under your noses, I think that'd be a bad idea. Imagine how the world would see you if you _attacked_ a UN agent. I mean, didn't you just hand over the Director's Chair so that SHIELD could come out of the shadows, again?"

"Yeah, well, I'm not SHIELD, anymore. My brother never has been. Steve, you've been done with SHIELD for a while, too, right?"

Steve nodded. "But..."

"But what?!" Clint shouted.

"Clint... stop." Steve said, putting his mug down. "Tony's right. We can't move against her. Going against the Accords to stop Zemo was one thing, being Secret Avengers was fine, but an act of war? We can't do that, not even to bring back Cassie."

"What does the UN think about her new occupation?" Barney asked.

"Oh, I informed Ross and his buddies at the UN about her deep cover assignment in HYDRA earlier today. They're ecstatic for the information they'll be receiving on such a horrific terrorist group."

"So, we just _let_ her be HYDRA?" Phil asked.

"You're having a hard time with the fact that it isn't your business, huh?" Tony patted Phil's shoulder and stepped toward the door. "Cassie Campbell isn't any of your business, anymore. Not either of the old men she backpacked through Africa with. Not her ex-fiance. Not her almost baby-daddy. And definitely not the intelligence agency that kept her locked up for a decade of her life. Cassie is not your problem. She's not your friend, your lover, or your goddamn teammate, anymore. Move on. Go home. Stop harassing my girl."

"So, you're okay with her... like that?" Steve asked as Tony walked out of the apartment.

"She's still herself, Rogers. Anyone who knows her, _anyone_ who's fought next to Red or sat through Labyrinth five times just to get some of that caramel corn she only makes on her movie nights, they would recognize her. She's just not 'Cassie' enough for Barton and for some reason that's completely beyond me, she took that rejection a bit hard. Don't worry, we'll find her a guy who can handle a badass with a few scars and a propensity for violence. I mean, Natasha has gotten dates, right?" He shut the door and walked away.

"We can't seriously be giving up! She's... please." Clint begged. Everyone in the room looked at their feet. "We're giving up on her?"

"No. We aren't giving up on her. We're... hoping that Tony knows what he's talking about." Steve answered. He looked around the room and sighed. "Everybody clear out. There's nothing more we can do here."

"You want us to just go home?" Coulson asked.

"I could still go in and keep an eye on her." Kate volunteered.

"No. We don't need to put you in danger. If she finds out who you are, it'll be bad. Maybe she won't do anything, but the other HYDRA agents will." Bucky responded.

"I'm volunteering."

"And we're sayin' 'no'." Coulson responded.

"I'm a grown woman! I'm a Hawkeye! You can't tell me what to do."

"Katie, you aren't going." Clint responded.

"I've been Hawkeye, too. Not all it's cracked up to be. Also, not all it's cracked up to be... being killed by HYDRA agents because you're spying on their new boss. Look, you aren't even spy-trained."

A light went off in Coulson's head. "I have an idea, though. We want someone to go inside, I've got just the guy." 

***************

"Are we interested in new recruits, ma'am?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Cassie looked up from her tablet as Derek approached her desk.

"Well, I was just thinking... 'cause you haven't been in charge very long, you might want to get your bearings first. Sorry, ma'am. Shouldn't assume."

"You shouldn't assume, Derek, but you _should_ think. Thinking is good and it's a fair assumption, even if it's wrong. Of course, we want new blood. Anyone in particular that you are interested in?"

"I have an ex-British Army Colour Sergeant, he insists on going by 'Smiley'. Said he tried to join up a couple years ago but he didn't want to deal with Ward's bullshit."

She chuckled, holding out her hand for his file. She'd heard about Grant Ward's HYDRA. "Bring him in." She said, flipping the folder open.

Derek went to the door and waved in the new recruit. He was tall and skinny, wearing a black Adidas sweat suit and impeccably white sneakers. He flopped into the chair in front of her desk. "Easy, luv?"

Cassie smiled. "You're going to sit up straight and try that greeting again, Mr. Davies."

"It's 'Smiley'." The man corrected, sitting up straight and offering his hand, his smile radiating up into his dark brown eyes. "Nice to meet you an' all, Mizz..."

"Campbell, and I'll not be calling you 'Smiley'. This isn't a Prohibition-era mafia, so no gangster nicknames." She took his hand and shook it. "I'll call you 'Davies' if you don't like 'Callum'."

"I 'ate it, actually." He looked around the office. "So... HYDRA. Not even tryin' to 'ide?"

"Why should we? Look, I've got your file. I know you were dishonourably discharged. You're a thief. You're good with a gun. But you've also got enough sense that you walked away from a spot in the organization when Ward was... what'd he call it? 'Director'? I want you in my organization, but I won't tolerate bullshit or disrespect. I won't tolerate self-service or lying. If you are on my team, you cease to have your own team. You belong to me. What do you say, Davies?"

"I say, 'sign me up'."

"Good. You can be on my personal guard. I've got some SHIELD and former SHIELD agents trying to run me down and fuck my brain. I'll need someone with me 24-7 so that they don't get their claws into me."

"Perfect. You'd be the most beautiful assignment I've ever got." He smiled, brightly.

She smiled back at him. "All right. Why don't you go grab your stuff? You'll have to shadow me, so you'll be staying in my guest room."

"Back in an hour, yeah?" He winked as he walked out of the office.

Shipton closed the door as Cassie stood, a grin across her face. "You know, that accent might have gotten to me. If only Callum Davies actually existed."

"Ma'am?" Derek asked, looking distraught.

"Oh, don't worry, Derek. I knew before I gave him the job that he was a spy. Why do you think I put him on my guard? Keep him close, control what he reports." She patted Derek on the shoulder before she leaned against the door. "Unless I'm wrong, that was Lancelot Hunter. Former SAS turned mercenary turned Agent of SHIELD. Disavowed about 6 months ago, after a mission went sideways in Russia. I guess my ex is still in contact with him."

"Your ex, ma'am?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters now is keeping the amount of actionable information he can get his hands on to a minimum."

"Friends close and enemies closer?"

"Exactly."


	4. Worth Fighting For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cassandra Campbell lets herself be a bit of a slut.

"So, 'ow'd you go from Avenger to leading a terrorist organization?" Hunter asked, pouring himself a drink from her wet bar in her stolen penthouse apartment. He was very casual, especially for only having known her for 2 days.

"How'd you go from highly decorated British Army Colour Sergeant to a discharged thief working for a terrorist organization? For me, it's simple, really. The Avengers hated me." He turned to her with confusion, bringing a glass to her and sitting next to her on her plush sectional couch. "Oh, they _loved_ who they _thought_ I was, but not me. Not the _real_ me." She took a drink of her whiskey and rested the glass on her knee. "I had a bunch of memories removed when I was a child. I was basically a blank slate for a bunch of years. SHIELD filled me up with what it thought I should be and Phil Coulson, Clint Barton, Steve Rogers, they loved the person I was. Loki Laufeyson, the guy who opened the sky over New York and let in the Chitauri, he _didn't_ like the woman SHIELD made me into. So, he found the words that brought my memories back. He _thought_ he found the words to control me, but... when is that guy not wrong?"

"So, you became someone else?"

"Yeah. All my HYDRA stuff came back and here  _I_ was. The Avengers and SHIELD, they hate the new me. I mean, there's no going back when your fiancé punches you in a completely unprovoked show of rage because you _described_ yourself in a way he didn't like. So... I came home to HYDRA after more than 15 years."

"Your fiancé beat you?"

Cassie's eyes twinkled as she smirked. "Oh, he tried. Unfortunate for him that I'm a super soldier and his considerable upper body strength is nothing compared to my genetic superiority. I could've killed him. I could've killed the Black Widow when she showed up to stop me. I could've massacred the archer that shot me with a tracer arrow." She chuckled. "But I didn't. I could've but I didn't, and now I have to worry about them dropping out of nowhere and taking me away to be wiped again."

"That's 'orrifyin'."

"Yeah. It is. But that's why you're here, right Davies?"

"Yes, ma'm." He said, taking a drink.  "Not goin' anywhere."

*****************************************

Cassie bid Hunter goodnight and sent him to his room. She entered her own room and sighed, slightly. "Loki. I thought I sent you home."

"Yes, you told me to go back to Asgard, but... I couldn't stop thinking about my HYDRA queen." He was sitting on the bed, wearing a dark green tunic and a simple pair of black pants. It was the least regal she'd ever seen him, and she'd seen him mid-coitus.

"You're still watching me. I thought I told you to stop that, too."

"Of course." He crossed his boots and leaned back on the bed. "It was a dream fulfilled to watch you decimate the archer. You could have fallen to your knees, chosen to obsecrate like a child when he battered you but instead, you battered back. Do you suppose his fingers will ever draw that weapon again?"

"I broke his hand, not his will. Trust me. Clint Barton will be fine. You, however, may not get off so easily. Showing up in my bedroom, on my bed no less. I should disembowel you, Loki."

"Aye, you don't want me here. I'm aware." He sat up straight and sighed. "But you won't send me away." She stood, arms crossed, in front of him. "Because that would be a violation of our agreement, Joanna."

"That's not my name."

"Apologies. I'm still getting used to addressing you." He leaned forward, grabbing her blouse and pulling her closer to him. "You wanted your freedom, I understood. But you admitted you weren't certain Clinton was going to go along with the true Cassandra. You promised that, if I went home to Asgard and you went home to Clint; if Clint sent you away, you would give me a chance. We did have _fun,_ after all."

"Loki. I just said that to make you leave." Her words weren't malicious. In fact, they were almost cheerful. "And we did have fun, but I've told you... That doesn't change that you hurt me and my daughter."

"Don't play with me, woman. You know what you agreed to."

"How does it feel that you're the consolation prize?" She pushed him backward to lie on the bed and straddled his hips. "You, Asgardian royalty and son to the King of the Frost Giants, are only getting to touch me because a simple human marksman was stupid enough to piss me off."

"I'm not entirely certain I delight in this new sensibility of yours, Cassandra."

"What, you don't like headstrong? You don't like a woman who knows exactly how strong she is? How she doesn't need your alien ass? You are here, Loki, not being beaten within an inch of your petty little existence because you're good in bed and I haven't been laid since I was last in Seattle. That's all." She rubbed herself against his lap as she spoke, grinding down.

Loki reached up, grabbing her shoulder. "Quiet your crooked tongue." He growled.

She slapped his hand off of her shoulder and put her hands on his chest, leaning down next to his ear. "I can't believe I was so terrified of you for so many years. You're nothing." She whispered. "Just your mother's recycled magicks and your failing manipulations. You are nothing."

"How dare-"

"Shut up. You want me, Loki, you're gonna have to deal with my abuse."

"I've never had _anyone-_ "

"You named me your queen. That puts me in the position to talk to you and tell you truth, Loki."

"But not to try to injure me with your words, woman." He growled.

"I am your queen. I do whatever I want. I do whatever I want... to you. If you want to fuck me tonight, Laufeyson, you will bite your tongue." She unbuttoned her blouse, allowing Loki to view her black lace bra and the scars he put on her. "Because I don't want to hear you, false king. I don't really want to see you, either. I just want to feel you. So... what do you say?" Loki glared up at her, but he didn't say a word. She smirked as she pulled the blouse down her arms and tossed it across the room. "Good job." She chuckled as she unhooked her bra and tossed it next to her shirt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki was gone before she made it out of her shower, so she took the opportunity to check on Hunter. He was sleeping soundly in his bed, so she snuck out and headed for Stark Tower.

"So, you're just leaving a spy in HYDRA?" Tony asked, as he handed her a glass of wine.

" _I'm_ kinda a spy in HYDRA right now. Why not leave Lancelot right where he is? Maybe see how far he'll go for Phil."

"And what does _that_ mean?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I really want to do something vindictive. Nothing deadly, but... maybe socially ruinous." She sipped the Merlot and laughed, lightly. "I keep thinking about things I could tell him so that Phil will get pissed when he reads the report, but..."

"So, how long do you think you'll keep this up?" Tony asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I don't know, Tony. I just... I've got some anger to get through before I move back into the tower or the compound. What did you do with my house in Seattle?" She asked, suddenly.

"Preserved. I put someone else in charge of StarkTech Olympia, but I just changed the security codes on the house and left it alone."

"That'll be good. I've got some stuff there."

"Green knit blanket, photo album, chef knife?"

"An heirloom necklace, a set of throwing knives, and the spare key for my hoverbike."

"You know, you're always welcome here. I, actually, had one of the scientists down in lab 3 asking about you yesterday."

"That's sweet, but we both know I'm not _always_ welcome anywhere. If Clint and them figure out I'm coming to hang, they'll spring a trap and then... I'm gone."

"Well... Tower's quiet without you. You should come by more often."

"Oh, don't get sappy on me, Stark. It's not your style." She smiled as she drank down the rest of the wine. "I'll be back when I... feel it's safe again. Got a skinny Brit named Hunter who's gonna be glued to me until I get tired of playing with him."

"Stay safe, huh?" He called toward her retreating back.

"Of course." She smiled, before slipping into the elevator.

*********************

The letter arrived to the bar, via bike messenger a week later. Karl brought it to Hunter, who opened it. "Cassie, I fought it'd be best fer bov of us if I didn't show up in person to talk to you." Hunter read aloud.

"Who signed it?" She asked from her desk.

"Uh, jus' says 'Steve'. Steve who? Rogers?" He asked, eyebrow raising.

She raised her hand to him so that he would hand it over. He sighed, and handed the paper to her. She shut her office door and sat down, opening the letter.

_Cassie,_

_I thought it would be best for both of us if I didn't show up in person to talk to you. I just wanted you to know that Bucky and I have given up on giving you to Fury. We have no right to change you. Strucker and Fury had no right to change you, in the first place. After talking to Tony, I'm convinced that it's a bad idea to erase your memories. I'm convinced I want to talk to you, the you that you are, now. Clint and Fury had us all convinced that we needed to put you back the way you were, but I know that's wrong. I should never have gone along with it. I'm so sorry. Please. Give me a chance to know you. I'm sure you're still one of the greatest women I've ever had the pleasure to meet._

_If you want to give me that chance, I'll be at the Queens library in Far Rockaway at 2 pm for the next week. I hope to meet the new you._

_Steve_

Cassie sighed, folding the letter and shoving it back in its envelope. She didn't want to talk to him. Except, she did. She wanted to make sure he didn't hold anything against her about Bucky or... HYDRA, but what if it was a trap? "Grab Derek for me, will you?"

"Ai't." Hunter hopped up and waved Derek into the office.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"I've got... a meeting that may be... an issue. So, I'm gonna need you to recon a library for me. Any places that operatives may hide, any and all exits. The works, okay, Shipton? Thanks."

"Yes, ma'am. Where?"

"Queens library, Far Rockaway branch." Derek nodded and left. "When I go in, I'm gonna want you to stay outside. On coms, of course."

"'Course. You meetin' wiv Cap'in America?"

She gave a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The library was small, but Cassie liked it that way. Less area to drop SHIELD agents into. She entered and surveyed the scene. Two children reading colorful books at a little table in the corner, a librarian at the desk and in a far corner, wearing a grey hoodie with jeans and a baseball hat, stood the massive frame of Steve Rogers. He had a book in hand. As she approached, she saw it was a biography of General George S. Patton. She kept 5 feet between them as he smiled and set the book back on the shelf. "Cassie. I'm so happy you came."

"I have men outside. Do you?" She asked, quietly.

"No. I told you I want to talk. Besides, it's me. Why would I disrupt these kids' reading time with a fight?"

Cassie blinked, then nodded. She put her finger to her ear. "Davies, stand by... at ease. I don't think this is gonna end in violence." She pulled her earpiece out and put it in the pocket of her black leather jacket. Steve smiled at her as he sat down at the nearest table and she slipped in the seat across from him. It was kind of absurd how big he looked in that small wooden chair.

"So." Steve started, nervously.

"Steve, we don't have to do this. You don't have to try-"

"I _want_ to. Clint, Natasha, Bucky, Tony, they all got to talk to you. They all got to make up their minds about you. It's my turn." Steve smiled again. "I've missed you. Tony mentioned your caramel corn and I haven't been able to get movie nights out of my head since."

Cassie chuckled. "Figures you want to talk to me about my candy. Not much good for anything else, huh?"

"Never said that. Look, I came here because I really _do_ want to get to know the new you. Tony, he's a good judge of character, really, and if he trusts you, if he says that deep down you're the woman I was falling for, then I trust that assessment."

"Steve..." _*Falling for? When did that happen?*_ She'd assumed she was just a passing fancy for him. He'd always been so quick to back off from her.

"I'm being honest, Cassie. I've liked you since that first date. I backed off because I wanted you to find your own happiness and now... you've pushed everyone else away. So, I want... to know you."

"I'm not her." Cassie said, a sadness making her throat dry up. "I'm not the dame you were falling for. I'm not the chick Clint fell for. I'm not even the damaged Junior that Bucky wanted so badly. I'm something entirely different, now, Steve."

"I don't believe that."

Cassie closed her eyes. "You liked me because I was modest, shy. I reminded you of women from your day. I remember that." She opened her eyes and focused in on his. "I'm not modest. I'm not shy. I have a violent streak... and a _needful_ streak. I'm tired of depriving myself just because that's what modesty demands. If it were up to me, and me alone, I'd tear your clothes off right here."

Steve looked down, blush spreading across his cheeks. "Cass-"

"Steve, I'm too different for Clint. Too different for Barnes. Add your name to the list. I won't blame you." She stood, moving toward an exit in the back corner. Steve was on her in a second, pushing her by the shoulders into the back corner of the reference aisle. She looked up at him, not angry yet, but surprised.

"You can't leave, yet. You can't write me off, yet. I haven't... I haven't decided."

_He's flustered. That's adorable. Is it because I mentioned tearing his clothes off? Probably._

"Steve." She put her hand on his abs, running her fingertips over the muscles through the grey material. "I can't be your Betty Crocker. You didn't want Natasha; you don't want me."

"Yes, I do." His words cascaded over her; exactly what she wanted to hear. "You are still intelligent and resourceful, a beautiful woman and a fearsome soldier. You are still the woman who trekked across Africa with me, who came to help me in Germany. You are still one of the women I dream about when I have pleasant dreams. Unlike Peggy, though, I never have nightmares about you. Give me a chance."

"I'm aggressive, Cap. If you get in this with me, you have to recognize."

"I recognize." He slid his hands from her shoulders to lightly rest on her sides. "I want you, anyway. Okay?"

"Captain America is crushing on the leader of HYDRA. That's one for the papers." She ran her hands from his abs to his chest, loving the feel of his muscles under the material of the hoodie.

"No. Captain America is crushing on his former teammate and friend." He said, quietly. He dipped his head down closer to hers. "You're really done with Clint?"

She scoffed, slightly, pushing him away from her a little. "I can't say that I don't love him, but... I can't think about him without wanting to crush his stupid carnie head, so... yeah, I'm really done with Hawkeye." She smoothed out the front of her jacket, then reached into the pocket and put the earpiece back in.

"Hey." Steve said, softly, lifting her chin to look at his face. "Can I take you out? Dinner or... out for ice cream. Something?"

"Sometime. Not now." She sighed and pulled the earpiece again. "I can't be seen out on a date with you, Cap. I'm... undercover in HYDRA. You are the epitome of anti-HYDRA. If my guys... Hell, if they knew I was in here _meeting_ with _you_ , I'd have a mutiny on my hands, and I've got... a plan going. Something that's gonna afford me the freedom I need. So... I'll call you when I get out."

"But what if I don't... want to wait that long to see you again?"

She smiled. "God, you're so sweet... and if there weren't children present... Hm. Just be patient, Steve. That's something you should have in spades. If I can wait for it, someone from the generation of instant gratification, then you can. Oof, but I will make it worth your while when we do have that second date." She bit her lip as she let her eyes drag down his body, then popped the earpiece back into her ear and started toward the exit. "Bis zum nächsten Mal, schön."

"Auf Wiedersehen, Geliebte."

She smirked as she walked out the door, turning around as she closed the door. "Was für eine Überraschung!"

"I spent a lot of time in Germany, Campbell." Steve said, with a smile as he walked back to the shelf with the Patton bio.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie sat on the couch in her apartment. She had to devise a way to get out. She didn't need HYDRA anymore. She had support. Not from Clint or Nat or Bucky, but Tony and Steve had remarkably both come to the same conclusion about her. She was different, but not _that_ different. She was worth knowing. Sure, she'd lost a fiancée in Clint, a kindred spirit in Bucky, a friend in Natasha and Phil and Fury, but Steve would be there for her, Tony would be there when she came back in from the cold. Thor probably still saw her as a sister.

She looked over at Hunter, who was sitting at the opposite end of the sectional playing an app on his iPhone. "Davies, how long have you been working for me?"

"'bout a monf?" He looked up at her. "Why?"

"You've done a great job. You've got great initiative and amazing skills. I think I'm holding you back, keeping you on my guard."

Hunter hit the power button on his phone and the screen went black. He set it on the couch next to him. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I could have anyone watching my six, you... you're made for bigger things, Cal. So, I was thinking... what would you say to going to LA, taking over for Karl as our recruitment specialist?"

She could see the wheels turning in his head. "Wut if I say 'no'?"

She sat forward as he moved down the couch closer to her. "Who says 'no' to a promotion?"

"Someone who don't wan' it. Look, yer an ace boss an' I would rather stay here."

"Come on. Are you serious? You have no ambition to move up in this organization?"

"I don' need to move up. I'm happy right here by yer side. Yer the best boss I ever had an'..." He sighed and moved right next to her. "I want to stay right here, livin' in this ridiculous penthouse with you, because you are a right beautiful bird and I am so happy to get to see you every bleedin' day."

She smiled as he put a hand on her thigh. "You're saying you're attracted to me."

"I'm sayin' it. I look at you every day and wonder 'How could the bloody Avengers send her away? How could that fiancé try to hurt her?' an' then I thank whatever God let me into yer graces." His accent had slipped from the harsh Cockney to a much softer version of the accent.

"Callum."

"I hate that name." He chuckled. "But I'd love to hear you scream it."

_*Well, that answers the question of how far he'll go.*_ Cassie smiled, reaching over to grab the back of Hunter's head, pulling him in for a kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie pulled the black bag off of Hunter's head and smiled at him. "What's this, then? I do somethin' wrong?"

"No. Not at all. You did exactly what you were sent here to do. You easily infiltrated my organization and then reported on me to Phil Coulson for a month."

"What?!" Panic filled his eyes. "No, you're... uh, you don't know..."

"Stow it, Lance. I know all about you."

"'Lance? Who's-"

"Lieutenant Lancelot Hunter, British Army SAS. A perfect fit for SHIELD, once he stopped blaming it for the destruction of his marriage, of course."

"How do you-?"

"Ooh, either someone neglected some facts when they briefed you on this mission, or you managed to vastly underestimate me even with all of the information." Cassie placed her right boot on the chair between Hunter's thighs and he opened them wider. "I'm incredibly intelligent and resourceful and I recognized Phil's handiwork as soon as I saw it. That cover identity? It's hard to put my finger on it, Lance, but there's something unique about Coulson's covers. He's so thorough. I knew when you walked in, though, who you were. Clint described you to me and I knew you were working with Phil, that you were back with Mockingbird." She giggled and Lance fiddled with the zip tie restraining his hands behind the chair back. "It must've _killed_ Clint to go to you for help."

"Look. I's just supposed to keep an eye on you. I wasn't on for wiping your memories or any o' that."

"Did you know that you and I are the reason Clint and Bobbi didn't work out? See, Clint was given a mission. Surveillance, on me. He was gone for weeks at a time and then, he started having feelings for me. Bobbi was already emotionally distant, and then she met you. I pulled Clint away from the relationship, you pulled Bobbi away. Did she seem worried when you agreed to come surveil me for an indeterminate amount of time? Like, maybe she thought you'd go the same way Clint did?"

Lance looked down. "She doesn't need to worry about that. Bob was jus' worried 'cause you're a crazy HYDRA-"

Cassie smiled and pulled her leg away from the chair. "So, she won't be expecting to get this video." She picked up her tablet from her desk and tapped on it, holding it up to see a perfectly clear security image from her living room. Hunter's eyes narrowed as the video showed him gyrating naked on top of her.

"That's fake. Bob's gonna know that's fake."

"Oh, no. This is real."

"No. This didn't happen. This-" His mouth hung open as he watched the progression of the video.

"And that's your signature move there, right? I mean, you bragged about it. Called it 'The Davies Flip', but I'm sure it's probably called 'The Hunter Flip' in your normal life."

"How'd you know that I-"

"Because this _really_ happened, Lance." She paused the amateur porn and set the tablet down. "You just can't remember it. You know that you did it. You can _see_ that you did, but I took every memory of the event away from you."

"I wouldn't- Bobbi and I _just_ got remarried, why would I do that?" He asked, confused tears prickling at the corners of his eyes.

"Fear of losing the mission. See, I told you that I was impressed by your initiative and attentiveness and I was going to give you a promotion. I was gonna send you to LA to deal with our cell out there. You had options. You could take the promotion, then tell Coulson the mission was bust and go back to your wife, or you could do whatever it took to stay at my side and keep the mission moving forth. You chose the latter; explained that you didn't want a transfer because you were so fond of me. You said that I was an 'Ace Boss' and a 'right beautiful bird' and said that you were perfectly happy to stay as my bodyguard because it means you get to see me everyday. From there, things just... took their natural course."

Hunter looked down, confused and angry. "You... you _didn't_ send that to Bobbi." He whispered.

"Oh, Lancelot." She leaned forward, her lips brushing against his earlobe. "I sent it to everyone. Bobbi, Coulson, Clint, all your little SHIELD buddies, they all know exactly how far you'll go for a mission."

"No!"

She pulled back and smiled. "Do you think they watched it together? Clint and Bobbi? Do you think they comforted each other afterward? Do you think they had a nice, acrobatic revenge fuck after they watched you break your vows?"

"You bitch!" He barked, jumping around in the seat, attempting to break free.

"Yeah." She chuckled. "I've been accused of worse. I will say, Lance, that you were amazing. That thing you did with your tongue..." Two knocks followed by three knocks came to her office door, so she grabbed the tablet and swiped her fingers across it. "Excuse me. I have to go greet a visitor."

She stood and walked out of the office into the bar, smiling at Clint, who was pacing in front of the door. "Clint. How's the hand?"

He stared at her for a minute before raising his left hand. "SHIELD has some damn good doctors. Miles ahead of the tech most hospitals have."

"Oh? I don't see a bow. You aren't here to fight?" She asked, with a smile.

"I'm here to talk... before Bobbi gets here."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh. She must not have liked my movie. Well, the editing was a bit raw, the lighting coulda been better. Eh, everyone's a critic." She held back the rest of her laughter as she began to chew on her fingernail and Clint took a step toward her. The HYDRA agents behind the bar moved defensively, but she put her hand up. "Clint, what is there to talk about? Picture says a thousand, right? How many words does a video say? Your spy failed and I'm obviously not-"

"Not the woman I fell in love with. Yeah. I fell for a modest, loyal woman who felt so bad about kissing another man that she called off our engagement and would never have considered fucking a guy she has no feelings for." Clint took another step forward. "But maybe I can get past that. Maybe we can start over, try again."

"You _really_ don't get it, do you? I fucked another man and sent you video of it, Barton! If that's not a definitive way of saying 'Leave me the fuck alone' I don't know what is!"

"It's a cry for help! You don't like being this way. This isn't you!"

"It's me, now! I'm _not_ who you want me to be! I'm not the one you want. Jesus, Clint, I knew that I was going to fuck Lance Hunter the moment I saw him. I knew that if he was willing to cross that line, I would let him. Because why should I give a damn about how things look? You think I don't know how many women you've been with? Why am I the only one who's not allowed to have fun?"

"All right, Clint. You tried, now it's my turn. Where's Hunter, you whore?!" Bobbi entered the bar forcefully, magnetic batons in hand. 

"I'm not the one who crossed the line with a mark for fear of losing a mission, Mockingbird. And don't think I'm stupid or unprepared, bitch." Cassie nodded at Derek, who pressed a button behind the bar. The batons flew to the wall above the door. "I gave you those. Created them myself, remember, dumbass?" Bobbi stepped forward, menacingly, hoping her height might be intimidating. "I know which knee you were shot in, Barbara. I'd hate to have to shatter it."

She looked down, likely remembering the pain from the original wound. Cassie smiled at her. "Now... you're here on a rescue mission, which is sweet but unnecessary. I was just about to fix him and send him home."

"What do you mean, 'fix him'?" Clint asked.

"I took his memories of the event, so unless you want him to keep feeling guilty about something he can't remember, unless you wanna keep being mad about something he has no recollection of, you want me to go give him his memories back."

"Why would you take his memories?" Bobbi asked.

"So that he will _understand_ what I am fighting for! All I want is to be left alone with my memories. It doesn't matter if they're good or bad, they're mine and I want them. I want to understand them, understand me."

"You did all of this to teach us a lesson?" She asked.

"Oh, the video was just that. Mostly a lesson for Clint and Phil, but you got caught in the cross. Sorry. The sex, however, was _all_ Lancelot's idea. Said he was excited to be with a woman he wasn't afraid to hurt. Now, whether that was a comment on your bum knee and fucky lung or simply a reference to never being with a superhuman... we won't know 'til I restore his memories. I'll send him along when I'm done. Memory recovery is hard work. It's gonna take some time. Toodles." She waved her hand as she walked back toward the office, and an agent opened the door as the others raised their guns at Clint and Bobbi, who scowled as they walked out.

*******************

"Hey, Lancelot. Welcome back." She said, soothingly.

"Oh, don't call me that." He groaned, his voice best matching 'massive hangover'.

"Okay, Hunter. Time to get up and go home. Your wife's worried about you, buddy."

Hunter blinked his eyes open and sat up. "I'm sorry for what I said. I was such an ass. I-"

"Hunter, stop. I knew that would happen if I took your memories. It's okay. Now, though, you have to go."

"You know, I didn't sleep with you just for the mission. I _wanted_ to."

Cassie pulled him up off the bed. "I wouldn't _open_ with that when you start explaining everything to Bobbi."

"I can't see why they'd wanna change you. I've wanted you for weeks, just needed an excuse, I guess. How do I explain that to Bobbi?"

"You never stood a chance, Hunter. I was bred for charisma and strength. I'm, basically, a succubus; and you can tell Bobbi that."

Lance looked down at her, disbelieving. "That true? Yore irresistible an' it ain't my fault?"

She smiled. "Who's gonna dispute it? They'll probably latch onto it as an excuse for _their_ behavior."

"So, you are a genius."

"And _that_ one I do have evidence on. Go on. Make 'em understand."

**************************

"You know what I never wanna see again? Some skinny-ass Brit shaking on top of you. Can we make sure of that, please?" Tony asked as she walked into her apartment.

"Someone forwarded it to you? Ha! How petty."

"Yeah. Barton thought I 'needed to know' how much you'd changed."

"What a douchebag!" She laughed, grabbing a bottle from her bar and flopping onto her sectional.

"Yeah. I've been saying. So, now that you've sent out your massive 'Fuck you' to Clint and pretty much all of Coulson's SHIELD guys, ya done?"

"It wasn't just a 'Fuck you'. I mean, it _was_ , or I wouldn't have cc'd Phil on it, but it was also a pretty good end game. See, I took Lance's memories of the day before our little get together, then I showed him the video. He was angry, confused, completely lost on why he would've done what he did. He tried to convince himself it was fake. He was pissed, until I gave him his memories back. The first thing he did was apologize. He's gonna go back and explain the feeling to his wife and Clint. Phil shouldn't _need_ to have it explained, but maybe a refresher is in order." She sighed. "And, with that, I'm done. I'll send my info on HYDRA to Ross and come in from the cold."

"Tower, Compound or Chez Campbell Seattle?"

"Well, if I'm coming home, it's gotta be Stark Tower."

"It'll be good to have you back. I've been missing the pitter-patter of tiny fists on punching bags."

"What, the Spider-kid isn't filling my shoes well enough?"

"He's an on-and-off mentee. He's devoted to that whole secret identity thing."

"Oh, come on. Anyone with half a brain could figure out a hero's secret identity. It's really not worth all the trouble."

"Anyone with half _my_ brain, yeah, but you?"

Cassie chuckled. "Okay. How long did it take you to find Spider-Man?" She asked.

"Well, I only had a mild curiosity about it for a few weeks, so I didn't put my full attention on it. Once I needed him, it only took 4 hours."

"And how much of that work did FRIDAY do?"

"All right. Fine. I'll give you 8 hours."

"I'll take it. Come on. Let's go home."


	5. Don't hold back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date #2 and date #3, with some spiderness in the middle.

Cassie held a compact mirror up as she applied lipstick in the backseat of a taxi cab. She didn't actually need the compact. She didn't actually need the second layer of lipstick, but she figured it was less conspicuous than turning around to check for a tail. "Hey, you look very familiar. Are you famous actress?" The Indian man in the driver seat asked.

She smiled as she closed the compact, secure that she wasn't being followed. "No. Not an actress. I was in the news a couple months ago when I signed the Sokovia Accords."

"Oh! Which one are you?"

"No one special. Just a lab experiment who was pushed into signing to get out of some trouble." She said, putting the compact and lipstick in her purse.

"What kind of trouble?" He asked. It was conversational, not prying, so she simply smiled.

"What kind of trouble do you think one would get out of by signing those papers? I was superheroing without the express consent of the United Nations."

"Oh? You are hero? Lots of heroes in New York. The Avengers, the Daredevil, that Jennifer Jones lady, the Manspider... uh..."

"I think it's 'Jessica'." Cassie said, as the cabbie took a left turn.

"What?"

"I said, 'I think it's Jessica'. The PI chick; I think her name is Jessica Jones, and yeah, there are a lot of superheroes in New York, but there are also a lot of supervillains in New York, so I think it balances."

"Do you have supervillain? An arch nemesis?"

"Got a couple ex-boyfriends that I'd see in the ground but other than that... nope."

The driver nodded. "I have ex-girlfriend who is crazy like supervillain. Tried to slit my throat on our anniversary. I sent her back to her family in India on first plane."

Cassie nodded, noticing they were coming up on her destination, a small corner shop labeled as Eddie's Sweet Shop: Ice Cream and Soda. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and grabbed $30. She handed the money to the cab driver with a smile and ducked out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. She smiled at the Harley Davidson Street bike parked on the street, before heading into the ice cream shop. A long counter greeted her, with people enjoying their sundaes. On the opposite side of the shop was a counter full of candy and sweets, and sitting at the ice cream counter was Steve. She hopped up onto the stool next to him and leaned her head on her hand. "Fancy meeting you here, Captain."

He smiled and swiveled on his stool. "Cassie. You look beautiful."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "I don't look any more beautiful than I did last time you saw me. I've even taken off my Sinthea makeup."

"Sinthea?"

"Yeah. Never met her, but I'm assuming she'd be all dark makeup and redness. If I'd been raised by Red Skull, I'd think red would be the color of choice."

"I didn't even notice the red when I saw you, I was focused on those beautiful green eyes."

"Layin' it on thick, Rogers." She smiled. "I like it. So, what's the plan, Romeo?"

"I'm gonna buy you a malted and then we're gonna hop on my Harley and head to the cinema. What do you think?"

"Sounds perfect, Steve. And what are we gonna do _after_ the movie?" She asked, putting her hand on his jean-covered thigh.

Steve cleared his throat. "We, uh, we'll see when we get done."

Cassie pulled her hand back into her own lap and smiled up at him. "You're so cute when you're flustered. Go on. Order me a chocolate malted, already."

Steve ordered two chocolate malted milk drinks and carried them to a corner booth. Cassie slid into the booth next to him and took a drink of hers. "So, you've moved back into Stark Tower?"

"Home, sweet home. And you're staying in Fury's old bunker still?"

"Yeah. Bucky, Sam, Wanda, and Natasha comes and goes. Wish we could have you."

" _You_ could have me." She whispered.

"Now, we wouldn't want to miss the movie, now would we?"

She clicked her tongue against her front teeth. "Aw, Steve. I, honestly, could not care less about the movie. Notice, I haven't even asked what you wanna see."

"Come on. You promised me a second date. I want an _actual_ second date."

"How many dates 'til we get to see each other naked?"

Steve took a deep breath, then let it out in a long controlled breath. "Cassie... you weren't kidding when you said you'd gained a needful streak. Look, I don't want it to seem like I'm not interested, because I _am_ , but I think we should do this right. Finish the date first, at least."

Cassie made a show of a big, dramatic sigh, then she smiled. "I know. I'm mostly messing with you, Rogers. So, what are we gonna go see?"

"You'll see when we get there." Steve said, picking up his malted and taking a drink.

*****************************

"Seriously, Tony, nothing happened." She said, sitting down on a stool in the lab and setting a plate with a sandwich on it down in front of her.

"Why not? Not that I'm advocating for it, just curious. Waiting for marriage?" Tony asked, fiddling with a tablet.  

"Because I shouldn't even really be associating with him, should I? He's a fugitive. He broke a bunch of folks out of a supermax prison. I'm an agent of the United Nations. I should arrest him on sight, right?"

"Oh, geez. We're never gonna hear the end of it, are we?"

"You're the one who made us sign." She answered, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"I didn't make you sign shit."

Cassie sighed. "Yeah. But if _you_ had spoken out against the Accords, Tony, if you hadn't given in so easily, pushed for us to sign so _vehemently_... they never woulda gone through. Rhodes would've signed, but the rest of us wouldn't have. It would've fallen apart without your support." She chuckled. "Totally not complaining, Tony. The Sokovia Accords saved my ass. Clint would never have backed off, Phil and Nat and Fury, they'd all still be trying to erase me if you hadn't come in with the UN backing you up to tell them to fuck off. Just sayin', though... if I keep up this thing with Steve, I'll be sleeping with the enemy."

"You ever seen that movie? 'Cause that's not what it's about."

"Shut up, you know what I'm saying. Are you actually good with this, Stark? I know that you and Steve had some... issues."

"Look, if you wanna get in bed with the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan, I'm fine. He's pretty much your best option, right? I mean, other than me, but sorry, kid, I don't see you that way." Tony said, tossing the tablet on the counter and grabbing a chip off of her plate.

"Yeah, you're not my type. I'm more for the clean-shaven look."

"Ooh, there's an option." Tony grabbed his tablet again and pulled up a few pictures. "If you ever get a hankering for a goateed man, here's a good one. Dr. Stephen Strange. Used to be a surgeon, now he's a wizard."

"He's a what?" Cassie asked, looking at the picture of a goateed man wearing a red cloak.

"A mage, maybe. I don't know the terminology. I don't occult. That's your thing, right?"

"Sorry, woman of science, here. I don't actually know _anything_ about magic. I still can't explain the damn Infinity Stones because they don't adhere to science." Cassie swiped through the pictures in the file. "Hm. He's cute. Maybe if things with the old man don't work out, I'll find this... why does this building look familiar?"

"It's where he's living now. It's in-"

"Greenwich Village! I went on an architecture tour with Kelly from Lab 3 when I got to NYC the first time. We stopped to look at this fucking weird-ass window." She pulled her fingers across the tablet, zooming in on the upstairs window. "Should have known there was weird occultness going on inside with the Seal of the Vishanti on the window." Cassie looked up in surprise. "What the hell is a Seal of the Vishanti?"

"Um, FRIDAY?"

"The Seal of the Vishanti is a protective sigil placed upon buildings to keep them safe from supernatural attacks."

"Huh." Cassie blinked down at the window, the intersecting lines interesting her. "Well, guess I know more than _nothing_ about magic, after all. Weird."

"HYDRA." Tony said with a shrug. "So, you've still got stuff buried in there."

"I guess so."

"You wanna see if we can dig it out, or are you happy leaving it where it lies?"

She bit her thumbnail and shook her head. "I don't know. Honestly, I think I'm good. Maybe I'll go see this Doctor, shake some more stuff loose, but I don't wanna force any of it."

"All right, well... keep me up to date on that crap. Need to know if you're gonna start doing mental manipulation shit like Wanda, 'kay?"

"Yes, boss." She said, jumping down and grabbing her plate, pulling it out of his arm's reach as he attempted to grab another chip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie sat on the balcony outside her apartment and looked up at the stars. She'd opted to have a Dr. Pepper instead of her normal whiskey. "I know you're there. I can hear you breathing. Wanna soda? Got Cokes and Dr. Peppers on the counter." She offered, gesturing behind her at the open sliding glass door. There was a 'schik' sound as spider-silk grabbed onto a can of Coke and Spider-Man dropped down to perch on the railing.

"Thanks, your highness. Miss, uh, Campbell." He pulled his mask up to his mouth and sipped at the soda.

"You're welcome, your spiderness. Mister Parker."

"What?!" He squeaked, before clearing his throat. "I mean, 'who'?"

She laughed. "Don't worry, Peter. We're on the same side again. Haven't you heard, I signed the Accords?"

"Yeah? And the rumor I heard about you running HYDRA?"

"Complicated. Suffice it to say, I was undercover and I'm not anymore."

"So, uh, how'd you... how'd you figure out-?"

"You _do_ know that your mentor is _my_ mentor, right?"

"What, Stark ratted me out?"

"No, I'm just sayin' I'm smart. He probably would have told me, though. He doesn't really go for the Secret Identity thing. You may have noticed."

"Then, how did you-?"

She turned her head to look at him. "I started by analyzing your speech patterns and accent, which told me Queens. From there I went frame-by-frame through the YouTube footage of you. Aside from the fact that your synthetic spider-silk is the most technologically advanced thing I've ever been trapped in, every part of your suit looks like found items. Before your mysterious benefactor upgraded your suit, you were a thrift shopper. So, I got a few digital copies of yearbooks from Queens public high schools, found a few science nerds who fit the body type to fill out that suit. Confirmed your identity through a voice match on a video of a Science Fair presentation. All-in-all, took about 6 hours."

"Shoot."

"Don't worry. Most bad guys aren't gonna be smart enough or resourceful enough to figure all that out."

"Well, you figured it out. Mr. Stark figured it out. I should just-"

"Stark had his supercomputer find you and I was challenged to find you by Stark. Don't worry."

"You got any ice?" Peter asked, shaking the Coke can, slightly.

"Yeah. Come on in. Don't go braggin' to your friends at school that a 27 year old invited you into her apartment." Cassie stood, walking into her living room and toward the freezer.

"What would I say? 'I was literally hanging on the side of a skyscraper and a superhero 12 years my senior asked me in for a Coca-Cola'? I mean, I don't think Penthouse still takes those letters." He said, walking lightly into the living room.

"Let it never be said that nerds aren't interested in dirty magazines. You can take the mask off, Kid." She pressed a button on her counter and the sliding door closed, a privacy screen dropping over all of the windows in her apartment. "It's safe here."

He pulled the mask off, setting it on the counter as she grabbed two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with ice. She handed it off to the teen, who poured the soda on top of the ice. "So, super strength, agility, wall-climbing, you've amazing eyesight. How'd all this... stuff happen?" She asked, pouring her soda in her cup.

"Uh, I got bit by a spider."

"Oh, really?"

"Well, not a _normal_ spider. It was irradiated." He said, looking around her apartment as she sat on a barstool pulled up to her breakfast bar. "What about you? Were you born this way? Mutant, Inhuman, Alien?"

"Wasn't even born."

"What?"

"Lab-created. Like a cheap diamond." Cassie smiled.

"You were created in a lab? Without a surrogate birth? 27 years ago? I didn't think that tech was even a thought until..."

She chuckled, happily surprised that Peter completely ignored her self-deprecating comparison in favor of geeking out about the science of her. "HYDRA and SHIELD, they have been ahead of the tech curve for decades, Peter. They've got things in the works that would make you drool." She cleared her throat, then tapped her fingers against the counter. "I was a bitch in Leipzig. I tried to scare you, said you were out of your depth, but you kicked ass, dude."

"Heh, thanks. I totally _was_ out of my depth, though. That was the biggest thing I've ever done. Mostly, I just web up muggers or stop car accidents. That fight in Germany was a big deal and having Tony Stark bring _me_ in on it? Mind-blowing."

"Yeah. I, uh, remember the first time he came into the lab when I was working. It was like being face-to-face with a rock star." She giggled. "You know he doesn't remember faces, or names. He's bad... with people, in general. But the man has a presence. People who don't know him think he's just a rich jerk, but it's not the money; it's _him_."

"He's, like, the smartest man I've ever met. And he has so much _tech_."

"Stick around, Spidey. He'll introduce you to people you didn't even _know_ you had a nerd crush on. Oh, and then, there's the _actual_ crushes. Stark does tend to attract attractive women..." She shrugged. "And men, if that's your thing. I don't judge."

Peter's eyebrows tucked together. "I, uh... girls." He said, drinking from his soda.

"Cool. Like I said, I don't judge." She smiled.

"So... uh, cool apartment." He looked around. "What do you got for a sound system?"

"Whatever Stark put in. Apartment was furnished when I moved in. Come to think of it, Stark furnished my house in Seattle, too. I stole my apartment in Chelsea, so that came furnished..." She looked down. "I haven't lived in a place with my own shit since Port Morris."

"You lived in the Bronx?"

"Yeah, when I moved out here from Malibu, I didn't have much money. It was a, uh..." She looked up, then rolled her eyes at herself. "I left in a hurry. So, I couldn't afford much. Found a one-bed for $450 a month, no deposit, in a building owned by a pimp who tried his damnedest to sign me up for service after I moved in, but I just put some good locks on the door and went about my life."

"You're a superhuman. Why would you be worried about some jerk with a pimp cup?"

"I wasn't a superhuman when I moved here."

"Wait, what?"

Cassie laughed. "I never get tired of confounding super-geniuses. HYDRA made me in a lab, tweaked me to be clever and strong, but 'super' just never happened until I came in contact with an Infinity Stone."

"A what?"

"Infinity Stone. Like the, uh, Tesseract? Or the, uh, the stone in Vision's head." She tapped her forehead. "That's actually the one that turned me. The Mind Stone, it used to be in a scepter that Loki had. As soon as it touched me, my genes went into overdrive."

"When did you meet _Loki_?"

"Oh, that is the _longest_ of long stories. If I'm tellin' that one, we're gonna need snacks. What's your poison?"

"Gimme 5 minutes. I'll swing down and grab us a couple dogs. Chili, mustard, kraut?" He asked, grabbing his mask and pulling it on.

"Chili with slaw, or ketchup and mustard. You going to the cart on the corner?"

"I'm gonna hit the one at Madison and 55th. Got three bucks?"

Cassie pulled a $10 bill out of her pocket and handed it to him. "My treat."

"Thanks." Peter jumped off the balcony and swung away.

*********************

"So, you could be _queen_ , like literally, of Asgard; and you choose to be here?" Peter asked, before taking a bite of his hotdog.

"You could be a supervillain, with those powers; taking revenge on everyone who ever made you feel small or using them to rob your way out of that walkup apartment you and your aunt stay in. Why'd you choose the hard route?" Peter looked down so Cassie smiled and shrugged. "It's all about your influences, right? Your aunt and uncle were yours.  The only influences that I could remember for _most_ of my life were SHIELD influences. Nick Fury is a standup guy. He's a bit sketchy, but he's a spy, so that's in the job description. Agent Phil Coulson is just... he's a good man. Never lied to me, even when he should have. All the scientists in the lab at the Fridge were great to me. They instilled... morals that I never would have gotten with HYDRA. In fact, they were oftentimes opposite of the morals HYDRA taught me."

"And you remember all that stuff, now?"

Cassie nodded. "I wish it hadn't changed me when I remembered it, but... it did. That's why I'll never be a 'Barton'. Loki made me remember and I lost my fiancé and all my friends in one fell swoop. I've still got Tony, though, so that's... so much better than nothing."

"So, that's gotta be weird. All those HYDRA memories and all those SHIELD memories. Who you are and who you were and who you were before that, that's gotta be a Royal Rumble in your psyche. That's like Nature V. Nurture to the extreme." He said, kinda excitedly.

Cassie chuckled. Here was Peter Parker, with no judgement, excited about the science of her psyche. "I have to say, kid, talkin' to you is so refreshing. Maybe it's 'cause you didn't know me before my memories started going wonky, but you just... don't seem to care about everything."

"Are you a bad guy?" He asked, polishing off his hotdog.

"No."

"Are you a murderer?"

Cassie sighed. "Yeah." She nodded, sadly. "You don't make it through HYDRA leadership school without torturing a few enemy agents to death, and a trio of white Americans don't generally make it through Africa without being attacked by warlords. Three lives snuffed out by me that weigh on me every day."

"How many people do you think Captain America has killed? Or Mr. Stark? Enemies are enemies and sometimes it's us or them. We don't have to like it, but... that's part of being a superhero, right?"

"Wow. How old are you, again?" She asked, before scoffing. "I'm not a bad guy. I'm not sure I'm a _good_ guy, but... I _am_ an Avenger and... worst comes to worst, I can always count on Tony to show me the right way. Mostly. Steve will fill in any pieces I can't ask Tony about."

"You still talk to Steve Rogers?"

"Yeah, actually. We're dating."

Peter's eyes grew huge. "What?!"

Cassie laughed, finishing off her chips by tipping the bag into her mouth and devouring the crumbs. "I am dating him... in a very 1940's, 'dinner and dancing, but nothing more' kinda way. Really, though, I can't even begin to tell you when we might have some alone time. Even when I get him past his modesty, I can't bring him _here_ and he can't bring me to _his_ base. Maybe a hotel?" She mused, mostly to herself.

"Whoa. I don't know why, but I guess I thought Captain America was too good for a girlfriend, too pure for it."

Cassie shrugged. "Pure-ish, but not by the time I'm done with him. Anyway." 

"Wow." He looked over at her clock and his eyebrows raised. "I should probably head out. Aunt May'll be expecting me soon. She thinks I'm at the library."

"All right. Well, you have a good night, Peter. You're always welcome here if you need some time without the mask." She winked at the boy and smiled as he pulled the mask back on and walked to her patio.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie decided to walk the 9 miles to her next date with Steve. As she came to the end of the 3rd Avenue Bridge, she caught the sound of boots behind her. Boots that were attached to someone who knew how to muffle the sound of walking. "What do you want, Clint?" She asked, leaning against the pole outside of Filtered Coffee at East 134 and 3rd.

Clint pulled back from the group of tourists he was following closely behind. He stopped in front of her and she looked up at him, not moving from the pole. "I heard you moved back into the Tower and-"

"Thought you'd follow me, make sure I really did leave HYDRA and I'm not up to anything shady?" She shook her head. "You know, as a former spy, you'd think that you'd be better at tailing someone. Or did you _want_ me to know you were there? You wanted to talk to me? Wanted to see if I'd fight with you, break your hand again? What do you want, Clint?" She asked, pointedly.

Clint shook his head, then ran his fingers through his hair and took his sunglasses off. "I... I miss you." He took a step toward her. "I miss us." 

"Clint... I know." She said, simply, looking up into his brilliant blues. She shrugged and pushed away from the pole. "I miss us, too. I miss _me_ , too. I wish I could be her again, but I can't. I tried. You punched me. I broke two of your ribs and your hand. The woman you loved... she's dead, Clint. Mourn her and move on."

"She can't be. I'm looking right at her."

"No, you're not. Clint, come on." Cassie looked down the road as another group of tourists walked toward them. "I'm not her. She never _really_  existed. She was made up by HYDRA and SHIELD. She was never real."

"But the love we felt... that wasn't fake."

"We can't even be in the same room with each other." She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then licked her lips and opened them again. "Any love we had, it died when I refused to get on my knees and obfuscate."

"What?"

She chuckled. "That's the word Loki used. When I refused to beg you for your love, when I refused to break myself down for you, that's when any chance for _us_ died, Clint."

"Are you friendly with _him_ , now, too?"

"No. He knows I hate him. But a woman has needs and Loki is more than willing to satisfy mine."

"Wow! Just... wow!" Clint threw his hands in the air. "You do remember what he did to-"

"Of course, I do. He froze my daughter in my womb, he beat me and raped me on several occasions. He made me think I was pregnant with your child but it was just a ploy to get me out of the Raft. But he got me out, didn't he? He's incredibly terrible, but... he's got a big dick and he knows how to use it. So... until Cap gets past his hangups, the Jotun gets to be my stress relief... provided he keeps his mouth shut."

Clint scoffed. "Well, it definitely seems like you've embraced your new self."

"Why is that a bad thing, Barton? I'm happier now. Couldn't you tell that I was... low-key miserable the entire time you knew me? I was missing myself, Clint. I was... lost, now I'm not. I am still a hero. I'm still Red Queen, but Cassie Barton is never gonna happen because the woman who wanted that... the woman who wanted to be a wife and mother, who loved being in charge of a R&D lab and who made herself sick trying to be better than her father..." She bit her bottom lip and shook her head slightly. "The woman who wanted a family and a partnership, who wanted tiny babies and Pizza Dog, who worried about everything and everyone except herself, she's dead. You have to get your head around this, man. I am not her. I'm me and I'm happy to be me."

"What if I'm still in love with you?"

"You don't even know me."

"And _Steve_ does? He was trying to erase you, just like me and Nat."

"He changed his mind. So should you. Go back to your farm. To your niece and nephew. Or go back to Bed-stuy. Either way... I'm going that way and if you follow me, Clint, we're gonna have a problem." She patted his shoulder, then stepped away as the crowd of tourists made it to the corner. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sorry I'm late. I had to shake a Hawk tail." She said, dropping herself onto a bench next to Steve. 

"Clint was following you?"

"No, I literally picked him up and shook him." She joked. "It's fine. I lost him miles ago. So... Zoo. This is... new for me. Zoo date. Not really _that_ interested in the animals."

"Come on. It's animals. Biology was one of your things, right?" She sighed deeply and Steve chuckled. "Yeah, I know what's going through your head. 'It isn't the animal biology that you want to be acquainted with', right?"

She smiled. "Come on, Rogers. How much longer are you gonna keep me at arm's length?"

"Walk around the zoo with me. We'll see the animals, have a nice time, and then..." Steve stood and offered her a hand as he pulled a key card out of his jacket with the other hand. "We'll go back to the room I rented at The Rodeway Inn."

Cassie's eyes lit up as she took his hand and stood. "Really? You're ready?"

"I've been ready for two weeks, but in my day, we didn't jump into bed after two dates."

"In your day, you waited 'til marriage... unless you had a layover in France." She said, looking up into his eyes. 

"Well, it isn't my day anymore... and this is our third date."

"Well, what are we waiting for, Rogers? Show me around the Bronx Zoo." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was small, the king-sized bed taking up most of the space in the room, but that was fine with Cassie, who kicked her Converses off into the bathroom and started to unbutton her blouse. "No fanfare or foreplay, huh? Just gonna strip and get to it, then?" Steve asked as he shut the door behind him and reached down to untie his boots. 

"Oh, there _will_ be foreplay, Rogers, after I get to see what you hide under that red, white, and blue outfit." 

"I haven't worn that outfit in months." 

"And I bet it's displayed prominently in the new HQ. Tony's got your shield, but the spangly outfit..." She pulled her blouse down her arms and dropped it to the floor, completely comfortable with her scarred nudity. She unbuttoned her jeans and shimmied them down her legs as Steve took his brown leather jacket off and hung it on the back of the door. She was down to her black lace bra and thong underwear, her clothes on the floor, by the time he turned around. "You're moving like an old man, Steve. Do you need some help?" She asked, crossing in front of him and beginning work on the buttons of his shirt. 

"What happened to patience? Weren't you the one talking about what I should have, in spades?" Steve asked, grabbing the hem of his button-up shirt and the white undershirt and pulling them both over his head. Cassie's hand immediately came to rest on his abs, her fingertips tracing the lines of the muscles. 

"I don't wanna be patient, anymore, Steve. I want you."

"You've got me." He whispered, toeing his boots off and unzipping his jeans. Cassie hooked her thumbs in his waistband and pulled his jeans and boxer-briefs down his legs. He chuckled as he stepped out of them. "Now, _you've_  got more clothes on than me."

"Oh, we can fix that... but first..." She smirked as she grabbed his waist and twisted, quickly, tossing him onto the bed. His massive frame bounced on the mattress and the bed-frame groaned under the sudden weight. She jumped on after him, straddling his waist and hovering over him without touching him. She laughed, lightly, running her hands across his chest. "Have you ever been with a woman that you didn't have to hold back with? That you didn't have to be afraid you were gonna hurt?"

"Never."

She smiled and leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I broke a headboard with Clint. I was holding onto it so hard... 'cause I couldn't hold onto him. And with Hunter, I just laid there like a sex doll 'cause I was afraid to break him." She sucked his earlobe into her mouth and worried it between her teeth. She wouldn't hold back. With Steve, she wouldn't have to. She licked her way down his jawline and kissed and nibbled at his jugular. His groans spurred her on as she continued her assault on his neck, switching sides as she brought her right hand between her legs and under her to grasp his rapidly-hardening erection. He gasped, loudly, and bucked into her hand. "What about you, Steve? We gonna break this bed together, old man?"

Steve groaned, grabbing her hips and forcing her down into his lap. His dick slid along her clothed lips like it knew it belonged on the other side of that soaked black thong. "Cassie Campbell..." He reached his left hand up and buried it in her hair, pulling her head down for a harsh kiss. His tongue swept across hers and she swiveled her hips against him. "You have a dirty mouth." He whispered against her lips.

"Yeah. Gonna clean it out with soap?" She joked, trying to pull away a bit, but being unable to move against his strong hand.

"Well, I was thinking my dick might be the best way to clean you up." He responded, grabbing the waistband of her thong and pulling it off of her. She moaned and pressed her lips to his. He tossed her broken thong to the side of the bed and twisted them so that he was on top and she was lying underneath him. He grasped each cup of her bra and ripped it apart, easily. 

She scoffed and looked down at the tattered remains of her lingerie. "You owe me an new bra, Rogers. Victoria's Secret. Dream Angel's Demi Bra. This was $60."

"I've got sixty bucks." He said, leaning down and taking one of her nipples in his mouth, his tongue laving across it. She moaned as his hand came down between her legs and he slipped his middle finger inside of her. Her eyes fluttered closed as he began to fuck his finger in and out of her at a quick pace, his other hand massaging her breast as he started nibbling on her neck. 

"Fuck, Steve." She moaned, as he added his first finger to the middle one and began to scissor them inside her.

"More of that naughty language." He groaned, pulling his hand away and leaning back. "Think I might just need to do everything in my power to keep you quiet."

"Oh, come on, Cap. We both know that I'm not gonna be _quiet_. I spent far too much of my time being quiet." She sat up, wrapping her hand around the base of his dick and pumping it, lightly. "Reserved, modest, humble, timid... I'm done being all that. I want you to make me scream filthy words."

"Can't resist a challenge." He chuckled, burying his hand in her hair and using the other to grab her thigh and hitch her leg on his hip as he kissed her. He lined his cock up with her entrance and began to slowly inch into her. She wrapped both legs around him and forced him to bottom out in her, his cockhead ramming against her cervix. He groaned and closed his eyes, his hands fisting in the pillow on each side of her head.

"I said don't hold back with me, old man." She said, slightly breathless.

"Don't call me 'old man', you little-" 

She bucked her hips against his, cutting him off. "Shut up and fuck me, Rogers."

"Respect your elder." He muttered, but he obliged, placing one hand on her shoulder and the other on the top of the headboard as he began a quick, hard snap of his hips. She raised her hips to meet his with every sweep, holding his massive body to hers and raking her nails lightly down his back. As the bed started to creak louder with the strain of their movements, she flipped them so that she was on top again. Steve didn't let her take control, though, reaching out to hold her hips in place as he started fucking up into her. She leaned down, resting her hands on his muscular shoulders as her breasts bounced in front of his face. "Jesus, you feel amazing."

"Lord's name in vain, Rogers." She slammed herself down on him and moaned as his cock hit her cervix again.

"Fuck." He groaned, his fingertips digging into her hips. "I'll pray for forgiveness later. You're worth it. How wet you are. How beautiful you are. How your muscles squeeze me so tightly."

She chuckled. "Such a beautiful thing to hear Captain America talking dirty. So sexy, you talkin' 'bout my pussy while your great, big, super-soldier cock is buried inside it." Steve's pace stuttered at her words and he leaned up to capture one of her swinging nipples between his lips. His hands traveled up her sides and met each other between her shoulder blades as he held her close and sucked hard on her nipple. "Fuck, Steve. God, you are so..."

He pulled back, his hands falling to her hips again. "I'm getting close." He said, his voice low and husky. She pulled herself off of him and dropped to his side, taking him into her mouth as far as she could and sucking lightly as she started to pump her left hand up and down the flesh that couldn't fit in her mouth. "Jesus Christ, Cass. You're perfect." He groaned as her tongue began to swirl around him and her right hand moved to massage his balls. "Fuck!" He exclaimed as he shot cum down her throat. She swallowed and pulled back, the suction of her lips making a popping noise as she sat up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. 

Steve sat up a bit, leaning on his elbows. "You didn't cum." He said, simply.

She shrugged. "Do you know how common that is, Steve? Most sexual encounters do not end with both participants orgasming. You got me close, though."

Steve reached forward, pulling her down for a kiss. "'Close' isn't good enough, sweetheart." He said, tossing her to the bed and diving between her legs. He pushed three fingers into her and began sucking at her clit and the skin around it. Cassie's hands grasped at Steve's hair and moaned, loudly, squealing when he nipped at her clit with his teeth. She screamed as she came all over his hand. He continued to fuck her slowly with his fingers as she came down, her breathing slowing as she blinked down at him. "How was that? Been a while since I went down on a woman."

She sighed, contentedly, and scooted herself up the bed to lie her head on the pillow. "Damn, Steve. That was... We're good at sex." She chuckled as he flopped his head down next to hers. They laid together in silence for a few minutes, loving the buzz of afterglow and the sound of each other's slightly heavy breathing. Cassie moved to lay her head on his chest, hugging him and letting her left leg tangle with his. 

Steve wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to him. "I'm glad you let me back in."

"Huh?" She asked, exhaustion in her voice and her eyes drooping closed.

"When you pushed everyone away, when you were only talkin' to Tony; I'm glad you let me back in." 

"Me, too." She sighed, sleepily, as Steve grabbed the sheet and pulled it over them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cassie and Steve woke to the sound of a rifle cocking. They were hesitant to pull away from each other, so comfortable being tangled together under the sheet, but they sat up and stared at Natasha, flanked by two armed SHIELD agents on each side. Cassie cast her eyes sideways to Steve as she crossed her arms over her breasts. "Tell me that you weren't in on this, that it wasn't all a setup." 

Steve stood from the bed, grabbing a pillow to cover his groin. "You know that she's not gonna go quietly, Natasha, and I'm not letting her go without a fight." 

"We know." She said, pointing the rifle at him and clicking the trigger several times. He went down as 4 bullets Cassie recognized as Icers hit his bare chest. 

She swallowed. "So, we're just ignoring the Sokovia Accords? These are SHIELD agents. This is an act of war."

"In a couple days, you won't even remember what the Sokovia Accords are or how they pertain to you. Sorry, Cass, but Clint's dyin' without you, girl." Natasha shrugged slightly then shot her 4 times.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The short brunette woman woke up and stretched, kicking her feet over the edge of the bed and turning off her 6 a.m. alarm. She showered and dressed, adding just a bit of brown makeup to her green eyes, and headed to work. She flashed her badge at the guard and placed her hand on the biometric scanner on the elevator before heading into the facility. "Agent Carpenter, how are you this morning?" 

She turned to the stoic Asian woman and smiled, brightly. "I'm doing well, Agent May. Is there a briefing this morning, or do you just want me to head to Ops for training?"

"Actually, you've been reassigned to Zephyr One. You're gonna be on Coulson's team."

The brunette's smile grew, her eyes lighting up. "That's great! I've been wanting to meet him for years. He was a legend at the Academy, as I'm sure you know. Much like yourself." She added. 

Agent May smiled, then nodded at the younger woman. "Well, Coulson heard about your amazing scores at the Academy and how you fought when HYDRA took over there and he asked for you, by name."

"Wow! I'm flattered. I didn't even think he knew I existed." 

"Zephyr One's in the hangar. You're going to want to grab a go bag. Week worth of stuff, several changes of clothes, some personal items." 

"Well, don't have much in the way of personal items, but I'll grab a bag."

The young woman rushed away as Coulson walked up to May. "Seems like she took to the new memories. Doesn't remember you, at all."

"Now, we just have to keep her from remembering Cassie Campbell and everything will be fine."

"Might be easier to do if you'd named her something other than 'Catherine Carpenter'." May's eyebrow went up.

Coulson shrugged. "She likes alliterative names." 

"You couldn't think of another letter to be alliterative with? 'Donna Dean', 'Janice Johnson', 'Zelda Zimmerman'?" May teased, walking with him back toward the hangar. 

"Oh, come on, May. I had to think up an entire new life story for my ex-girlfriend, in just two days. Cat Carpenter is, honestly, the best I could do under the conditions."

"And what is the plan with Clint Barton? He's just... coming out of retirement, back to SHIELD, to keep an eye on-"

"He's hoping to make Agent Carpenter fall in love with him." Phil said, turning to her as they made it to the double doors leading to the hangar. "So, Barton is going to be on Zephyr One with me, too."

"And this new life story you gave her... she gonna be into middle-aged archers this time? Or more into older men?"

"Funny." Coulson pushed his hand to the biometric scanner and the doors opened. "I don't know who she'll be interested in. Maybe she won't want either of us. I just gave her a history, I can't know how it'll change her 'til I spend some time with her." 

"All right, well, keep me updated. I'll keep an eye on Stark and Rogers, see if they suspect." May patted him on the back and walked away down the hallway.

Phil nodded and walked toward Zephyr One, where Clint was waiting for him. "Here's her file. Let's talk in my office." He said, handing a tablet to the other man and walking toward his onboard office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cassie, or rather Catherine, will return in another story soon.


End file.
